See how Nick Saban spent National Signing Day; Hint, fan screams ‘Go Vols’ during tee shot

While coaches around college football were putting the finishing touches on their signing classes, former Alabama coach Nick Saban hit the fairways.

Saban, who was named as an ESPN analyst on Wednesday, participated in the WM Phoenix Open Pro-Am. If his opening tee shot was any indication, it appears there will be some good ole SEC ribbing. One fan yelled, “Go Vols” after his tee shot. AZ Central reported, however, Saban acknowledged a lot of “Roll Tide” cheers while signing autographs.

“It’s one thing to play in front of 100,000 people when you know what you are doing,” Saban told The Golf Channel. “It’s a whole other thing to play in front of people when you know what you are doing.”

He added he was having fun.

“It’s always a challenge,” he said. “You always have to keep on trying to overcome the adversity you have in any sport, but I think it’s a great lesson for all of us to learn by playing sports.”

Retirement, he told AZ Central, has given him a chance to work on his golf game.

“It’s great to meet a new sort of group of people and be associated with events like this, where you have a lot of fun,” Saban said. You know, I love coaching. I love trying to help create value for players. But you know, it was inevitable at some point in time that I was gonna have to do something else,” Saban said, stopping for a chat between the 17th and 18th holes. “And now hopefully, I can help the game and college football even more in retirement than before and do a lot of other things to start the next chapter of your life.

“I don’t want to really quit work, I just didn’t want to work all the time.”

Here is just some of the social media reaction from Saban’s outing on National Signing Day.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.