Julian Sayin, Caleb Downs Recount Day That Nick Saban Retired: Roll Call

Alabama fans will always remember where they were when the news broke of Nick Saban’s retirement.

The jaw-dropping headlines came after the Crimson Tide’s first team meeting of the new year. It was the first-ever meeting for Alabama’s freshmen class, and it resulted in several of them transferring. Quarterback Julian Sayin practiced with UA during the week of the Rose Bowl, but proceeded to transfer to Ohio State after Saban made the announcement.

“Once we got back, it was like, season’s over, this is the meeting to start next season, I guess, right? A reset. [Saban] just came in and I was shocked,” Sayin said on the Downs 2 Business podcast on Wednesday. “I felt like the players were shocked, too. We were pretty shocked about it, and when he retired, I just don’t — it was pretty wild. We had like one day of class before, it was our first day of classes like that Tuesday, and then the meeting was Wednesday.”

One of the hosts of this podcast is Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who also transferred out of Alabama following Saban’s retirement and a freshman campaign that led to him winning the Shaun Alexander Award.

“I’m telling you, some of the freshmen’s parents were still on campus, or they were just about to leave,” Downs said. “[The freshmen] just had moved in, and then he came in there and said that. I was sitting next to [Alabama cornerback] Zabien Brown and this other DB and he was like, ‘Is he serious?’ I was like ‘He’s not joking [laughs].'”

The two former five-star recruits have fared well during their time in Columbus, Ohio, thus far. Downs was a Unanimous All-American last season and helped lead Ohio State to a National Championship victory. Sayin is thriving in his first year as a college football starting quarterback, as the Buckeyes are 7-0 and have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since Week 2.

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“I felt like I would take the field with the general, he was that type of guy to me. If I lose, it’s ‘Man, Coach Saban lost.’ He’s that type of guy. He comes into a room and everybody’s silent. He demands respect. He still reminds me of that general.”

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