Rece Davis on Nick Saban's draft performance: 'I thought he was sensational'

Nick Saban made his first major television appearance post-retirement at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, manning the ABC/ESPN desk for two evenings covering the first, second and third rounds. And by most every measure, the legendary head coach knocked the assignment out of the park.

One of his new colleagues, ESPN’s Rece Davis, gave Saban rave reviews during a recent interview on the Pat McAfee Show.

“I thought he was sensational,” Davis said of Saban’s performance on the College GameDay broadcast. “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 talked to coaches. He knew the stuff, inside out.”

But Davis shared that even Saban had some moments where he expressed a desire for more information, perhaps for fear of balking at discussing a player. That gave Davis a window to offer some media coaching to Saban.

“And there was a point, a few days before, because of the ABC broadcast it sort of focuses on the personalities and the paths the players have taken to get to that point, he said, ‘Well I wish somebody had really let me in on this so I could’ve found out more of these stories,'” Davis said, recalling the interaction with Saban. “And I said, ‘No, no, we want you to be Nick Saban. You have plenty of these stories. From playing against them, recruiting them, running across them in camps, just share them.'”

Saban seemed to follow up on Davis’ advice, with one moment standing out for Davis, in particular.

Plus, he and Saban and the rest of the crew on the desk on Friday night got to dip into one of Saban’s favorite treats: a Little Debbie oatmeal creme pie.

“When Drake Maye gets drafted and we show the party at his high school, the celebration party at Myers Park High School, it was in the basketball gym,” Davis said. “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. But he was great. He ate a Little Debbie on television Friday night because everybody gets punchy late in the third round, and it was great.”