Rece Davis, Mel Kiper Jr. have no animosity over Shedeur Sanders debate

It was a moment that went viral, because the panel got hot over Kiper's rant, but in a recent episode of the "College GameDay podcast," Davis revealed that there were no hard feelings once the draft coverage was over.

“People can disagree, and still be very fond of each other and still like each other and still be laughing and joking in between sets during the commercial breaks,” Davis explained to his co-host, Pete Thamel (h/t On3). “We were [together] at the end, Mel’s not a touchy-feely kind of guy, but we, you know, kind of half hugged on the way out. But it wasn’t because, ‘Hey, let’s make up over disagreeing over the draft position of Shedeur Sanders.’"

The "half hug" had nothing to do with Sanders or the heated conversation. Per Davis, it was just a moment between two friends who will remain friends even after the 2025 NFL Draft.

“It was more because we’ve worked the draft together the last few years. We like each other. We get along. We enjoy working together, but for whatever reason, we probably won’t lay eyes on each other until the 2026 NFL Draft. So it was like, ‘Hey, hope everything’s great,’ … And, you know, there’s no animosity whatsoever," Davis said. 

That's the good side of the world of sports in a nutshell. We've all had heated arguments with friends and even co-workers about sports, but at the end of the day they're arguments about a game. Most well-adjusted people can move on and realize that at the end of the day, those kinds of disagreements matter very little.

Now, of course, there's more at stake professionally for someone like Kiper, but at the end of the day, it's important for anyone in sports media (including this writer) to realize that we're simply watching and talking about a game.

Sometimes we get upset and passionate, but there are so many more real things in this world that deserve our passion. Sports simply aren't worth getting that upset over, and they're certainly not worth losing friendships over.