While it might have been for the 2024 NFL Draft, Nick Saban what was effectively his debut as a full-time member of College GameDay last week.
Saban’s analysis of outgoing college football stars as they prepared for their NFL futures was highly praised and he seemed to put any concerns about his TV preparedness to bed.
Unsurprisingly, among those who had nothing but positive things to say about Saban’s broadcasting was GameDay host Rece Davis.
“I thought Nick Saban was sensational during the draft and he was so prepared..
He has so many stories to share and he was great” ~ @ReceDavis #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0Ui2XgEa8U
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 30, 2024
“I thought he was sensational,” Davis told Pat McAfee on Tuesday. “He was so prepared, which comes as no surprise to you guys or to anyone else. He had studied tape. He had read stuff on guys. He had talked to general managers, he had talked to coaches. He knew this stuff inside out.
“There was a point a few days before, because of the ABC broadcast where it sort of focuses on the personalities and the paths that the players have taken to get to that point, he said ‘I wish someone had really let me in on this so I could have found out more about these stories.’ And I said, ‘No, no, we want you to be Nick Saban. You have plenty of these stories from playing against them, recruiting them, and running across them in camps. Just share them.'”
Davis then shared a specific moment that happened organically that allowed Saban to provide some personal context.
“I don’t know why this moment has stuck out to me, but one little example of how quickly you can tell a story and personalize somebody and personalize yourself, when Drake Maye gets drafted and we showed the party at his high school, it was in the basketball gym, and when it popped up on the screen, Nick just sort of interjected, ‘Hey I’ve been in that gym. I was in there watching him play basketball.’ It took eight seconds for him to say that and, boom, it gave you another personal angle to the story,” said Davis.
“Yea, I should be mad at him.” 😂
Nick Saban jokes on Drake Maye decommitting from Alabama Football. pic.twitter.com/qxBARdsV1C
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) April 26, 2024
“He was great. He ate a Little Debbie on television on Friday night because everybody gets punchy late in the third round, and it was great.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.