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Rece Davis Praises Nick Saban for 'Phenomenal' College GameDay Performance

Saban's first season on the pregame show has been impressive.

Kyle Koster

Saban has been a revelation during his first year on College GameDay.
Saban has been a revelation during his first year on College GameDay. / William McLelland-Imagn Images

Nick Saban's hard exterior throughout his legendary coaching career helped obscure the fact that he had one of the more interesting relationships with the media. He was a heck of a quote and not nearly as cantankerous as Bill Belichick, though the two were often lumped together. So it's really not a surprise that Saban has stepped into College GameDay and hit the ground running, actively making an already good show that much better.

Rece Davis, who has benefitted from that presence, joined the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Tuesday to talk about this development, sparring no praise for his deskmate.

"He's been phenomenal," Davis said. "The quickness with which he has adapted to television. He's one of the most gifted communicators I've ever been around."

"But television and fitting into a group is a different dynamic," Davis continued. "Usually for most people, I think it almost takes a full season. For him, he's adapted very quickly. He understands team. He's a great advocate for the show. He comes with ideas. He's not shy about expressing his opinion yet he is not overbearing. That guy listens to everybody and takes it into consideration."

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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