“He came out of his chair”: ESPN’s Rece Davis revealed former HC Nick Saban’s ecstatic reaction to seeing a player get drafted
Nick Saban, the former head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, is now a broadcaster working for ESPN.
Saban was analyzing ESPN at the recent NFL draft, and one of his new colleagues, Rece Davis, revealed that Saban had an ecstatic reaction to the announcement that a specific player was drafted into the NFL,
"He came out of his chair when Max Melton from Rutgers got drafted."
Saban's reaction to the drafting of Max Melton may have surprised some people.
Saban spent 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide and led his final team last season to the College Football Playoffs, where they were defeated in the Rose Bowl by the Michigan Wolverines.
One would expect that he would have an "ecstatic" reaction to a member of his Alabama side entering the NFL, not a player from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a team that has mostly struggled in the Big Ten since the program moved to the conference in 2014.
But, it was Max Melton, a cornerback that made Nick Saban rise from his seat.
Why did Nick Saban rise from his seat when Max Melton was drafted
During the television broadcast of the NFL draft that Nick Saban was part of, he explained why he liked Max Melton,
"This is like my sleeper corner in the whole draft... He’s made a lot of picks, can play the ball in the air. He’s a fast reactor. He’s physical, he’s tough. I think this guy’s going to be a really good player.”
Max Melton was not on many people's radar for the cornerback position. In a position that had well-known players such as Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terion Arnold, and Cooper Dejean in its ranks meant that Melton hardly got a look in.
NFL Draft Buzz ranked him as the 10th-best cornerback available in the draft. In reality, Melton went as the 43rd pick of the draft to the Arizona Cardinals, and was the 7th cornerback to be picked and interestingly, was the 4th consecutive cornerback picked in the draft.
How was Max Melton with Rutgers?
Max Melton played with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for four seasons.
During those seasons, Melton made 113 tackles with one sack and had eight interceptions.
His physical and tough nature, praised by Nick Saban, was seen during his time with Rutgers and was able to give the Scarlet Knights a strong defensive player who was able to help limit their opposition from scoring, something that occurred while facing the opposition of a similar caliber to them, but not as much against the powerhouses in the Big Ten.
Do you think that Max Melton will succeed with the Arizona Cardinals?