“I think Florida has a really, really good team,” Saban said. “Maybe a lot better team than even what they are ranked right now. Their new offensive coordinator has definitely done a really good job for them. They have some significant impact players back that were injured a year ago.”
In addition to players like starting quarterback Jeff Driskel returning from injury, the Gators also have a new offensive coordinator, Kurt Roper. Roper was hired from Duke after serving under David Cutcliffe at the same position and helping turn the program around.
“They have a completely different system on offense,” Saban said. “They do a lot of things they did at Duke. I think Duke was very, very productive on offense last year. They’ve got a lot of multiples of formations, they will spread you out.”
The Gators started the season with a 65-0 win over Eastern Michigan and a 36-30 triple overtime win over Kentucky this past weekend.
When the Alabama offense takes the field Saturday, it will have to try to beat one of the best cornerbacks in the nation. After one season in the SEC, Vernon Hargreaves III has already made a name for himself as an elite defender.
“He was a really good player in high school,” Saban said. “He is very instinctive, he’s fast and quick, but I think his great asset besides having great ability is that he’s a very instinctive player.”
Hargreaves started 10 games as a freshman last year and finished the season with 38 tackles and three interceptions. He was also named to the All-SEC first team as one of the conference’s best cornerbacks.
