Nearly one year into his retirement from coaching, Nick Saban has settled comfortably into his role on ESPN’s College GameDay.
But every so often, the seven-time national champion can’t help but take off his analyst hat in favor of his coaching one.
Such was the case on Wednesday, as College GameDay previewed the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Rose Bowl matchup between Oregon and Ohio State. Following a feature on how Ducks star wide receiver Tez Johnson wound up in Eugene, Saban expressed frustration he never got the opportunity to coach the Big Ten Championship Game MVP and Birmingham, Alabama, native.
“What I’m sitting here thinking about is Tez Johnson’s in Birmingham, 45 minutes away from Alabama. We didn’t recruit the guy,” Saban said. “Who was recruiting Birmingham? And I should have fired their ass.”
Nick Saban: “What I’m sitting here thinking about is Tez Johnson’s in Birmingham, 45 minutes away from Alabama. We didn’t recruit the guy. Who was recruiting Birmingham? And I should have fired their ass.” pic.twitter.com/AocKjb90qn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 1, 2025
After some prodding from host Rece Davis, Saban conceded that he couldn’t remember who that assistant coach would have been. He did, however, note that whoever it was missed twice, as Johnson initially enrolled at Troy before transferring to Oregon following the 2022 season.
“Could you imagine if he would have been able to get any players?” Davis joked of Saban to the rest of the College GameDay crew.
In the unnamed/unknown Alabama assistant coach’s defense, it’s not like Johnson was a highly touted prospect coming out of Pinson Valley High School in 2020. Boasting scholarship offers from Troy, Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State, he ranked as the nation’s No. 208 wide receiver and No. 1,467 overall prospect according to the 247Sports composite, which would have made him by far the lowest ranked recruit in the Crimson Tide’s 2020 recruiting class.
As for 2023, Johnson left Troy as the transfer portal’s 80th-ranked wide receiver and No. 396 overall prospect. Still, despite his lackluster recruiting rankings, Oregon saw enough in him to take a chance that has since paid off in a big way for the Ducks, leaving Saban still seething a year into his retirement.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.