Nick Saban: Will Muschamp Was One Of ‘Best Assistants That I’ve Ever Had’ [VIDEO]

One of the biggest storylines in Alabama's Southeastern Conference opener against Florida won't occur on the field, but on the sidelines.

For the second time as head coaches, Alabama coach Nick Saban will face-off against Florida coach Will Muschamp, who coached under Saban from 2001-05 at LSU (four years) and the Miami Dolphins (one year) as his defensive coordinator.

"First of all, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Will," Saban said. "He’s done a great job for us when he worked for us (at LSU). He’s one of the best assistant coaches that I’ve ever had. I knew that he would make a very, very good head coach because he’s a hard worker, a good recruiter and really does a good job of coaching the players."

That experience under Saban means many of the Gators' defensive schemes may look familiar for Alabama players.

There’s a lot of similarities," Saban said when comparing the Crimson Tide's defense to Florida's. "They probably play an even defense a little bit more than we do, but really when it comes to the coverages and the overall things that they do, there’s a lot of similarities."

Muschamp and the Gators are 2-0 this season, including a triple-overtime win this past Saturday against Kentucky. Alabama has won the last three meetings against Florida dating back to a 32-13 win in the 2009 SEC Championship Game.

In the schools' last meeting and the first between Saban and Muschamp, the then-No. 3 Crimson Tide defeated No. 12 Florida 38-10 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

Top WR vs. Top CB

While Saban-Muschamp may be the most intriguing off-the-field matchup, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III should carry the same weight on the field.

During Monday's press conference, Saban was asked about Hargreaves III's ability and the challenges he will present for the Alabama offense.

"He was a really, really good player in high school," said Saban, who recruited and offered him to come to Alabama. "He’s very instinctive, he’s fast, quick. But I think probably his greatest asset, besides having great ability, is he’s a very instinctive player, a very good cover guy. He’s tough, physical."

But even with all of the sophomore Hargreaves III's talent, he should have his hands full against Cooper, who ranks first nationally in catches this season with 33 and third in receiving yards with 454.

"He’s exceptionally good against press, coming off the ball, but he’s also very good coming out of a break,” Saban said about Cooper. "Most of the time the defender gets beat either on the release or out of the break. A lot of guys are pretty good at one and maybe not as good at the other. And he has really good hands and good ball skills.

"So he’s the complete package when it comes to a guy that is a pretty complete player. He’ll probably get a lot more man-to-man type coverage in this game, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles that. He does a good job with it in practice."

Injury Report

- Cornerback Eddie Jackson (quadriceps), running back T.J. Yeldon (hamstring) and outside linebacker Denzel Devall (shoulder) may not be at full go in practice today after all three suffered minor injuries in the second half against Southern Miss last Saturday.

"We have a couple of guys that are a little bit nicked up that may not be 100 percent today, but I feel like we’ll have just about everybody tomorrow," Saban said.

- Wide receiver DeAndrew White, who has been out since separating his shoulder in the season opener against West Virginia, has not been cleared to return to game action yet by Saban, but he will continue to participate in practice this week, regardless.

"Dee White will practice all week," Saban said. "We’ll kind of see how it goes with him, and make a decision later in the week and see if we think he’s able to go out there and play. He did practice some last week, so we’re encouraged by the progress that he made."

- Defensive back Jarrick Williams (foot) will likely miss his third straight game, but at the least, he will return to practice this week. Williams suffered a Jones fracture in his left foot against West Virginia.

"Jarrick Williams will start running and doing drills this week, but probably a much greater longshot for him to be able to play in this coming game," Saban said.

Watch the player interviews from Monday below:

Wide receiver Amari Cooper:

Right tackle Austin Shepherd:

Defensive End Dalvin Tomlinson: