OutKick Exclusive: Behind The Lens Of Nick Saban's Draft Coverage On ESPN With Rece Davis

PublishedMay 1, 2024 8:00 AM EDT|UpdatedMay 1, 2024 8:00 AM EDT

Nick Saban won his head coaching debut on Saturday, Sept. 8, 1990, at age 38 when Toledo beat Miami of Ohio, 20-14, in front of 19,000 at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.

Saban won his ESPN College GameDay TV analyst debut, but in more spectacular fashion at the NFL Draft, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at age 72 in front of 275,000 fans in Detroit and another 12.1 million watching across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2.

Saban finished 9-2 and shared the Mid-American Conference title at Toledo in 1990 and would win 11 Southeastern Conference championships at LSU (2) and Alabama (9, including the 2023 title). He won seven national championships - one at LSU and six at Alabama - over 28 seasons in all as a college head coach.

And the odds are he will keep winning as an analyst on GameDay's weekly coverage of college football in the 2024 season next fall, and likely for years to come if his debut last week is any indication.

Then Alabama coach Nick Saban talks to ESPN's Rece Davis after his Crimson Tide beat Georgia for the national championship on Jan. 8, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

"He was sensational," ESPN GameDay host Rece Davis told OutKick on Tuesday. "I know that's easy to say, but he's a gifted communicator in just about any setting in which he's at. And it's going to get just better and better and better because he doesn't mail anything in. He's not wired that way. He wants to be great at this. He told me that."

Much like in his coaching career, it did not happen by accident or luck or by winging it. As usual, he prepped like an Eagle Scout.

"He was thoroughly prepared, as you might imagine," Davis said. "He was very curious and wanted to know goals and how we were approaching things."

Nick Saban Wanted More From ESPN's Research Staff

And he needed a little more, despite ESPN's research staff delivering Saban and the other GameDay talent "reams and reams of information," Davis said. So Saban called one of the producers.

"Hey, how can I get some more tape on these guys?," he asked.

"He had done all the reading. He had everything prepared and organized," Davis said. "He did all of that. He was prepared and ready for the moment."

But shining among the GameDay crew of veteran broadcasting stars such as Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso and Pat McAfee takes much more than being a stats and facts nerd, particularly at the NFL Draft.

Saban had to be in the moment, too, and funny as well as informative very quickly with the timing and presence of a great play caller. He was all that on Thursday night for the first round and the second and third rounds on Friday night.

"As important as preparation is, I thought the most important thing he did over those two days was he became more and more comfortable and was willing to let people see more and more of his personality," Davis said. "He would crack jokes. Little things, one-liners. He really just fit in with us very well."

Take a look:

Saban did more than just say LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels - taken with the second pick of the draft by Washington - was difficult to prepare for because of scrambling and passing ability. He shared a personal anecdote from his bedroom. It was Daniels who beat Alabama 32-31 in overtime with a do-or-die, walk-off, two-point conversion pass in 2022. Saban obviously lost some sleep before and after that play.

Most of the country expressed shock at Atlanta's pick of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 in the first round after just signing free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins in March, though that pick was reported as a possibility the previous Monday.

OPINION: Atlanta Taking Michael Penix Jr. Not A Surprise To All

Saban didn't seem that surprised. He just delivered key information. Penix does have the strongest arm in the draft, according to many, and the most accurate.

When New England took North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, whom Saban recruited to Alabama, with the third pick of the draft, Saban pulled a memory out of nowhere as highlights of Maye playing basketball in high school showed on TV.

"I've been in that gym. I was in there watching him play basketball when we recruited him," Saban said.

"It took eight seconds for him to say that, and boom, it gave you another personal angle to the story," Davis said.

Saban also showed he could be a fan. When the Arizona Cardinals took Rutgers cornerback Max Melton in the second round, you would have thought Melton played for Saban at Alabama. And he's not an actor.

"He came out of his chair," Davis said.

"This is my sleeper cornerback. I love this guy. He's going to be an outstanding pro," Saban said.

NFL Draft More Difficult Than A Fall Saturday

And Saban's debut came the hard way. A normal Saturday of College GameDay in the fall would have been an easier opener for Saban - study the teams in the biggest games that day and prep for the guests. The draft, on the other hand, keeps coming at you every few minutes, and much of the time no one knows for sure who is about to be picked.

"The draft is a different monster," Davis said. "There is such an element of unpredictability and the need to be nimble. He was very quick at that."

FOX Sports 1 analyst Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL player, thought Saban was more than nimble when he dropped this:

And he made it all look so easy.

"As I'm sitting next to him, I'm like, ‘This guy’s an actual natural at this entire thing,'" McAfee said on his show on Tuesday. "It's beautiful. It's beautiful for college football, too, that he's going to be prevalent throughout the season. He was interrupting and going. That's means he's confident."

Nick Saban Interjected - He Didn't Interrupt

Saban wasn't interrupting as much as he was interjecting information within the flow of what one of his partners was saying.

"Interjection is conversation. It's interruption that's rude," Davis said. "If you have something to interject in the conversation, that's how we talk. That's what we want. And Nick did a really good job of that. He was very cognizant of not stepping on people."

Saban has transformed from the ultimate college football coach to just a member of the team.

"He was very aware that he wanted to fit in with the guys," Davis said. "He wants to be part of the team. He's going to be an unbelievable member of that team."

And the greatest college football coach of all time wants to be coached.

After a two-hour GameDay before the draft started, Saban and the rest of the crew retired to the trailer for a break. But Saban was still working.

"What you got for me? What do I need to do better?," he asked Davis.

"I didn't really have anything specifically to tell him to do better," Davis said. "Everything else will come with time - feeling each other's rhythms and speech patterns - when to jump in and when to get out."

Then Saban had a Little Debbie cake.