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Nick Saban owns up to his dumb mistake

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Nov 1, 2025 12:24 PM ET

Nick Saban is arguably the greatest college football coach ever, but that does not mean he is perfect. He was willing to own that again on Saturday.

Saban and the “ESPN College GameDay” crew discussed Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin on Saturday, a player Saban briefly coached at Alabama.

The legendary coach owned up to the fact that he did not make the most of the quarterback’s time in Tuscaloosa.

“I think one point I’d like to make about Julian Sayin is, he was at Alabama. And the coach at Alabama played him on the scout team for a whole year. What a dumba–,” Saban said.

“I think one point I’d like to make about Julian Sayin is, he was at Alabama. And the coach at Alabama played him on the scout team for a whole year. What a dumb***.” – Nick Saban pic.twitter.com/sBZtLVFUJd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 1, 2025

Sayin did, indeed, practice with Alabama in 2023. He transferred to Ohio State when Saban announced his retirement in 2024, and has quickly become one of the top quarterbacks in the country as a sophomore.

In total, Sayin has thrown for 1,872 yards this season with 19 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Saban has shown himself to be pretty self-deprecating on “GameDay.” This was no exception. Obviously, he was a great judge of talent, but he may have underestimated Sayin. On the other hand, the 2023 team still went to the College Football Playoff with Jalen Milroe at quarterback, so it is not as if they were struggling.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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