Coach Saban isn’t one to let things slide! Though he has stepped away from the world of coaching, it’s almost as if coaching hasn’t left him yet. After Caleb Downs chose to go to the Ohio State Buckeyes when he was offered more NIL money, a chord was struck with Saban, and quite a loud one at that too. Now, he’s going straight for the head of the $20 million team as he fires his shooting arrow.

The Ohio State Buckeyes is going into this season with a strong and developed team but it didn’t cost cheap. Reports suggest that over $20 million NIL money was used to build up such a squad, which is too copious of an amount for a college football team. Even though the community seems in awe of the newly revamped team, Saban isn’t easily convinced and took to the mic to let his feelings be known.

Nick Saban brings the heat for Ryan Day’s Ohio

The recent dig of Nick Saban towards the Ohio State Buckeyes is making the headlines. During the 31st August episode of the ‘College Gameday’ show, Nick Saban sat down with other ESPN hosts like Pat McAfee and others and remarked how teams tend to overpay for players, subtly hinting towards the star-studded roster that the Buckeyes have curated for this season.

In one of his much-anticipated appearances on the show, Saban dropped an unprompted expletive while talking about the massive NIL money that has been pumped into a program like Ohio. He said, “I just wanna say, you guys keep talking about a $20 million roster. If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be sh** out of luck.” Thus, it looks like Saban is hitting back at the Buckeyes for luring away one of his most prized players, Caleb Downs, and the former coach will have all eyes on Ryan Day to see how he overcomes the challenges of the NCAA this year. While the former Alabama HC claims the money played the major part in the signing of Downs, the youngster denies such opinions outrightly.

Caleb Downs refutes claims of NIL greed as motivation

The 6-foot, 203-pound defensive back, was the first Alabama freshman to lead his team in tackles in program history in the 2023 season. Downs’ contribution to the team earned him the title of the ‘Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year’ and was even named the SEC Freshman of the Year. All in all, he looked to be one of the generational talents of Alabama but chose to cut his career short as soon as Saban left and joined hands with Day.

Speaking up on his reasons for leaving, Downs highlighted how his love for football is the only thing that matters to him rather than financial incentives. He said, “At the end of the day, I love playing football. And that’s what I’m here to do. I’m not here to make money or do anything like that. I know there’s a lot of opportunities here in terms of the city of Columbus, but at the end of the day, I’m here to help this team win football games and I’m here to do my best to try to develop.” Thus, the fans will be eagerly looking at both the Buckeyes and Downs since they have a lot to prove going forward into this season.