Rece Davis Joins “The Game” with Ryan Fowler

College Gameday host Rece Davis joined Ryan Fowler on Thursday evening to discuss Nick Saban joining the team, Kalen Deboer's takeover as the Alabama football head coach, and who the guest picker could be for Saturday.

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College Gameday is in the midst of its hottest start to a season yet, with the highest ratings over the first month of the season in College Gameday history. What, or who, can this be attributed to?

"[Coach Nick Saban] has been awesome, and he has been a driving force behind those numbers that we're very grateful for," Davis said on Tide 100.9 on Thursday. "He's been awesome to work with both on camera and off, and we're very fortunate to have him."

What makes Saban so great for Gameday television?

"Someone, certainly with his credentials because no one has those credentials, and then someone that closely removed from the height of the profession and stepping into TV. Not just someone from a football expertise and expert level, but someone with his skills as a gifted communicator has just been a joy to work with," Davis said.

Good television work is all about chemistry. It's evident when the show hosts or people working together have a dislike for one another. Saban's dynamic with the Gameday crew is the opposite of that.

"The longstanding relationship that he had with Kirk [Herbstreit], and I think that Nick [Saban] and I have had a good relationship for a long time," Davis said. "But, just over the last couple of years, the dynamic he's developed with Pat [McAfee] it's like a formula that has worked for generations on Broadway and in the movies. It's the pairing that you would think wouldn't work, yet it works brilliantly, you know? They work together great, they have a great affinity for one another, and certainly, they play off each other beautifully. It's something we've hoped for and we're really pleased to see in terms of the dynamic.

Who's going to be the guest picker on College Gameday?

"I'm not telling you," Davis joked with Fowler. "I know who it is, but I' don't want to be the one to spill it."

Davis did provide a hint: "I think it's someone fans will enjoy."

Davis also talked about Alabama and Georgia being the game where Alabama really becomes "DeBoer's team."

"I can't imagine anyone with a more perfect temperament or demeanor to step into that role. I think in order to have that perfect temperament and demeanor, some of that is who Kalen is, but there's also great confidence because he's had tremendous success everywhere he's been, and he draws on a lot of those things. This is a guy who gets excited talking about football."

"I feel like Kalen [DeBoer] has become the leader, but I feel like, just because of the magnitude of this game, and the level at which Alabama has won, I know it's his program and I know he's taken over, but it feels like on Saturday night is when he really becomes the Alabama head coach. Regardless of wins or losses, it's like this job commands and demands this type of stage, and I think this is really the night when he assumes that role, on the outside. Obviously to the players and administration and to everybody, he was the head coach when he took the job in January. But in a bigger picture, to have this national spotlight and this national stage, this is where he, in the minds of college football and the public, becomes the Alabama head coach.

Want to listen to the full interview with Ryan Fowler and Rece Davis? Click the play button!