Oba Femi? Julio Jones? The President? Debating College GameDay's Guest Picker

College GameDay is returning to Tuscaloosa for this weekend's highly anticipated clash between No. 6 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia. With it comes the debate over who should fill the highly coveted role of guest picker.

Guest pickers need to check a few boxes: relevance to school(s) playing in the game, entertainment value, and national relevance. So, with condolences to outspoken local meteorologists, here are some of the options to sit behind the desk with the GameDay crew on Saturday.

Longshots

These are all intriguing options, but all have a significant reason why they likely will not ultimately be the pick. Let's evaluate...

Eddie Lacy or CJ Mosley

Both played key roles on Alabama's 2011 and 2012 national championship teams, and both are returning to serve as honorary captains for Saturday's game. Neither would be a bad option, especially Lacy, who has become a must-follow on social media for anyone looking to improve their health as he regularly highlights his post-career weight-loss journey online.

The only reason these two aren't higher is the vast number of higher-profile former and current NFL players from Alabama to choose from.

Oba Femi

Before "The Ruler" took the wrestling world by storm, Isaac Odugbesan won three SEC shot put championships as a member of the Alabama track team. Femi visited Alabama football in September, speaking to the team and gifting Kalen DeBoer a custom championship belt.

The logistics here are interesting. Femi is facing Bronson Reed in a WWE Money in the Bank event in New Orleans on Saturday night that will air on ESPN Unlimited. The event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. CT, so it's hard to say what time Femi needs to be at the venue. If they are really committed to bringing him on the show, it seems doable. Femi and Pat McAfee would surely provide some fun back-and-forths, but considering Femi's match will be happening at the same time as the Alabama game, there are diminishing returns on the benefits of bringing him on from a promotional standpoint.

Riley Green

Green has ascended to a new level of superstardom in the country music world over the past two years. The Alabama native and former Jacksonville State quarterback has spoken at length about his love for college football, and his song "Hell Of A Way To Go" features the lyric "Or maybe on a fifty-yard line watchin' Alabama whoop up on Tennessee." The kicker: he's an Auburn fan.

Ella Langley falls into the same boat as an Auburn fan from Hope Hull, Ala. She's out of the running for this week due to her ongoing tour, but don't be surprised to see one of the two on set one day in Tuscaloosa, most likely for an Iron Bowl.

Montana Fouts

Is Fouts' profile outside of Tuscaloosa high enough to warrant a GameDay slot? I don't think so, but I do think this pick would make a lot of Alabama fans very happy.

Since finishing her decorated Crimson Tide softball headlined by her World Series perfect game, Fouts has become one of the faces of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, winning the league's Pitcher of the Year Award last season and having pitched complete-game wins to clinch the championship in each of the league's two seasons.

Donald Trump

Hey, you never know. This would be a near-impossibility logistically, given Secret Service guidelines, but we have seen College GameDay move locations before. The show actually moved indoors during its season-opening show in Baton Rouge due to inclement weather.

Since the weather is going to be a massive storyline this weekend, ESPN is already working through contingency plans, and an indoor location has likely already been selected if needed. With President Trump having announced his plans to attend Saturday's contest, crazier things have happened.

Old Reliables

The following people all have appeared as guest pickers before, and they all have clear ties to one of the schools in the game. Think of these as safety nets, secure options for Saturday.

Ms. Terry (Saban)

Inserting some personal bias here — I loved Ms. Terry's GameDay appearance ahead of the 2024 Alabama-Georgia game. She does bring out a different side of Nick Saban on the show, and creates some very fun commentary.

ESPN's six-part documentary, "Saban," releases on Thursday, and the network has spent a lot of money to promote it. I would expect to see at least one segment devoted to it on Saturday's show, regardless, but what better advertisement is there than the coach's wife sitting next to him?

Joe Namath

Namath has been the guest in Tuscaloosa three times — appearing before Iron Bowl victories in 2014 and 2020 as well as Alabama's 34-24 loss to Texas in 2023. Would anybody object to seeing the Crimson Tide icon and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback again?

Luke Bryan or Quavo

The chart-topping country singer and former "Migos" member are both outspoken Georgia fans who have appeared on GameDay before. Given the program's recent trend of choosing hosts with no affiliation to Alabama when the show comes to Tuscaloosa, it would be very on-brand for someone like these two to end up on the show.

The pair collaborated for a 2024 single, "Georgia Ways" (save yourself the listen), so who knows, maybe they'll appear on set together.

Frontrunners

These two options feel like no-brainers. I fully expect to see one of these two behind the desk on Saturday.

Julio Jones

Jones would be another great promotion for the aforementioned "Saban" documentary. His appearance on GameDay also feels overdue, as the seven-time Pro Bowler has somehow never been a guest picker. It's hard to come up with a single reason for the 2010 Second Team All-American not to come on the program. He's at the top of the list of retired players for this weekend.

Bryce Young

And here's the most obvious selection of them all, and the person I think will ultimately be announced as the guest picker in the coming days. Young is on his way to a career season with the Carolina Panthers. His 1,268 passing yards currently lead the NFL, his nine passing touchdowns rank tied for third, and, most importantly, Carolina has its bye this week.

Everything is set up for the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner to return to Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

All College GameDay Guest Pickers in Tuscaloosa

Date	Guest	Result
Oct. 5, 2025	Theo Von (comedian)	Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14
Sept. 28, 2024	Ms. Terry Saban	Alabama 41, Georgia 34
Nov. 4, 2023	Nate Bargatze (comedian)	Alabama 42, LSU 28
Sept. 9, 2023	Joe Namath	Texas 34, Alabama 24
Nov. 28, 2020	Joe Namath	Alabama 42, Auburn 13
Oct. 17, 2020	Derrick Henry	Alabama 41, Georgia 24
Nov. 9, 2019	Justin Thomas (Alabama alum, PGA Tour)	LSU 46, Alabama 41
Oct. 22, 2016	Verne Lunquist (broadcaster)	Alabama 33, Texas A&M 14
Nov. 7, 2015	Rick Ross (rapper)	Alabama 30, LSU 16
Sept. 19, 2015	Eric Church (country singer)	Ole Miss 43, Alabama 37
Nov. 29, 2014	Joe Namath	Alabama 55, Auburn 44
Nov. 15, 2014	Marcus Luttrell (NAVY Seal; Purple Heart and Navy Cross recipient)	Alabama 25, Miss. State 20
Nov. 9, 2013	Jake Peavy (Cy Young-winner, World Series Champ, and Mobile native who is a lifelong Crimson Tide fan)	Alabama 38, LSU 17
Nov. 5, 2011	Brian Wilson (LSU alum, MLB All-Star reliever)	LSU 9, Alabama 6 (OT)
Sept. 11, 2010	Bobby Bowden	Alabama 24, Penn State 3

College GameDay introduced full-time guest pickers in 2009, but Alabama had hosted the show five times before that season.

Pre-2009 College GameDay Visits to Tuscaloosa

Date	Result
Sept. 22, 2007	Georgia 26, Alabama 23 (OT)
Nov. 12, 2005	LSU 16, Alabama 13 (OT)
Sept. 6, 2003	Oklahoma 20, Alabama 13
Oct. 5, 2002	Georgia 27, Alabama 25
Sept. 1, 2001	UCLA 20, Alabama 17

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