Nick Saban tells hilarious story about Caleb Downs & Alabama ‘swear jar’

College GameDay broadcast live from Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, which means star Ohio State safety Caleb Downs was one of the players featured during the show.

GameDay aired a feature on Downs, his childhood and his decision to leave Alabama for the Buckeyes following the retirement of coach Nick Saban after last season. Later, Saban first offered praise for Downs — who was named first-team All-SEC and the national Freshman of the Year in 2023 — and then told a hilarious story about their relationship.

“This guy is one of the most complete people that I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach,” Saban said. “He’s a great person, a great student and he’s a phenomenal football player, great competitive spirit and his competitive IQ. How he responds on the field, he acts instinctively. I mean, it’s in the top tier of all players of all time.

“But the one thing about Caleb that I have to tell you, I just don’t know if I can trust him. We had a rule last year because I didn’t want to cuss in the meetings. And I was trying to… set a good example. So every time I cussed in the meeting — and I was always in the DB meeting, I had to pay five bucks.

“Well, Caleb was the guy holding the cash. Well, there’s about $500 in there (by the end of the season). “I don’t know what happened to the cash.”

Host Rece Davis then chimed in and said that ESPN’s Jen Lada asked Downs about the money and reported that “Caleb Downs says he and Terrion Arnold spent that money. “It’s all gone.”

GameDay co-host Pat McAfee then chimed in “I always knew you paid your players.”

During the video feature, Downs revealed that he left Alabama only because Saban retired. “That was the coach I came there to play for,” he said.

Here’s the full video: