Telling Nick Saban no

So, what is it like to tell Nick Saban no?

Georgia linebacker Quay Walker can answer that question.

For many, Walker is best known for his Tennessee hat flip before announcing for Georgia. However, it was a few days before that the Bulldog senior had to call the Alabama head coach to say he was decommitting after being pledged to the Tide for the better part of a year.

“I wouldn’t say it was ‘hard,’ because it’s your decision, it’s your life,” Walker said. “So, I wouldn’t say it was hard; not for me.”

After a short pause, Walker cracked a slight smile, then started to sing a different tune.

“…it probably was, with my situation, having been committed to them for a year then flipping right before Signing Day,” Walker said. “I can’t put it into words. But it was hard to tell him I was not going three days before Signing Day.”

Walker's decision certainly made Georgia fans happy, although he admits decommitting from Alabama was a decision he did not take lightly.

“It was real, real hard,” Walker said. “I think a lot of people think it came down to Georgia and Tennessee, but for me, it was also Alabama.”

Walker explained that “It was really hard for me to decommit from there because of the atmosphere and how I fit in,” he said. “I think I would have fit in well if I had gone there. I was committed for like a year. I had great relationships over there.”

Considering Walker’s impact in Athens, there’s little doubt he would have made a similar one in Tuscaloosa.

Walker enters Saturday’s SEC Championship as Georgia’s fourth-leading tackler with 51 stops, including 4.5 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback pressures. He said there were three reasons he decided to make the switch.

“Coach (Glenn) Schumann, I would say, along with my recruiting class. We had a lot of guys that were from Georgia, and they were really big on staying home. It just felt right,” Walker said. “Of course, with Coach (Kirby) Smart being from South Georgia, played a role in it as well."