Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn
After nearly 40 years, Lee Corso is set to retire from his role as a host of ESPN College GameDay. With Corso riding off into the sunset, many fans of the show wondered what that meant for iconic headgear segment, where he picks the winner of the game they’re attending by donning the head of the winning mascot. Now it appears we have an answer thanks to co-host Rece Davis.
“I think I’m going to have to tackle anybody that tries to do a headgear pick, other than Lee Corso,” Davis told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins. “That, to me, is his signature moment and it should stay with him, in my judgment.
“And I will fight very hard not to be overruled or vetoed on that. Because many people tell me that it’s something that they look forward to every week. And I think that is his and his alone.”
Rece Davis on the future of the headgear pick: “I think I’m going to have to tackle anybody that tries to do a headgear pick … that to me is his signature moment and it should stay with him.” https://t.co/Khp2KYPf0x pic.twitter.com/YFza0Hh3FM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 18, 2025
It’s hard to disagree with Davis here. The headgear was Corso’s baby and specifically associated with him. If anyone else tried to do it, it would just feel like some sort of cheap imitation. It also allows the show, and its hosts, to take on its own direction in the years to come. In recent years, new host Pat McAfee has stepped up to fill in some of humorous role that Corso had provided in the past. McAfee provides a nice counterbalance to co-hosts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and in particular Nick Saban.
While replacing Corso is impossible, College GameDay execs seem to have built a cast that does its best to do so in the aggregate. And in doing so, they’ve made it so the show can move forward without the need for someone else to take up the mantle of headgear wearer.