Watch: Lee Corso receives moving ESPN tribute ahead of 400th headgear pick

"When L.C. puts on the headgear every Saturday morning," said "College Gameday" host Rece Davis, "that is the moment when the day of football can start."

"Could have never dreamt it would become where we are today where fans every week, that's what they wait for, to see what headgear he's going to put on," added longtime "Gameday" fixture Kirk Herbstreit.

The video included tributes from head coaches including Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Ryan Day (Ohio State) and Lincoln Riley (USC) recalling some of Corso's most memorable moments, including his first pick (Ohio State's Brutus), the times he's fired a musket and, best of all when he said "f--- it" after tossing a bullhorn aside at Houston. 

Corso wiped away a tear afterward as he thanked ESPN for sticking with him following a 2009 stroke, his cohosts "for putting up with me and my schtick" for the past 27 years and those who put together the video, which was also praised on social media.

As for his 400th headgear pick? He picked Colorado, a 23.5-point favorite ahead of the "Rocky Mountain Showdown" against Colorado State.

His weekly picks, as the tribute video highlighted, have become engrained within the fabric of the sport. A former quarterback at Florida State (1956) and 15-year head coach at Louisville (1969-72), Indiana (1973-82) and Northern Illinois (1984), he's been involved with the sport in some form for the past eight decades. With 400 headgear picks down and plenty more to come, Saturday's "Gameday" video is the perfect tribute to a man who's given so much to college football.