Nick Saban praises 'complete team' he sees in college football

Live underneath beautifully blue Miami skies, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee shot the breeze about college football's upcoming Week 4 slate, and of course, the College GameDay showdown between Miami and the visiting Florida Gators.

Through three weeks, the Hurricanes have looked every bit the part of their top-five ranking in the AP Poll, vanquishing Notre Dame and then smashing a ranked South Florida club both at home as part of a rowdy 3-0 start for The U. Ahead of their matchup vs. Florida, Nick Saban spoke endearingly about the pieces head coach Mario Cristobal assembled to build a terrific, and balanced, team.

"I think Miami is one of the most complete teams that I’ve seen," Saban asserted to McAfee while wearing a crisp coral-colored blazer. "From being physical, being balanced on offense, being able to run the ball, being able to pass the ball with a good quarterback and good skill guys, and make explosive plays — as well as the fact that they’re playing very well on defense and they’ve got a very good front."

That's a lot of praise packed into a few sentences from Old Saint Nick, who went even further lauding the development of Miami's defense and especially that defensive line coached by Jason Taylor, a former player under Saban when he was coaching the Miami Dolphins.

"You know, I love Jason Taylor," Saban shared. "He was one of the best guys, best players I ever had the opportunity to coach, I’m talking about from an attitude standpoint, from a leadership standpoint. I mean, he was a great player, too, but he’s coaching that defensive line and those guys have gotten better every year, and now they've got a pretty dominant front."

Miami had glitz and glamour a year ago with Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo powering an eight-cylinder offense, but the line of scrimmage play, especially defensively, ultimately cut Miami short of their College Football Playoff hopes. Saban now notices a strength up front with a secondary that completes a solid defense.

"The back-end is a lot better," Saban added, shortly after noting Miami couldn't stop anyone the year prior. "They did a great job in the transfer portal getting some guys that could play in the back. So, they have one of the most complete teams I’ve seen so far this year."

Nick Saban did say that Florida has the "best roster" they've had in quite some time, but believed quarterback DJ Lagway's roadblocks preventing him from practicing early in the year have made the first month of the year tough on the Gators.