Alabama Coach Nick Saban Returns the Love to Colorado Coach Deion Sanders

Alabama football coach Nick Saban's seven national championships place him in the pantheon of all-time greats. He's seen practically everything one can see in the game of college football.

So when he doles out praise, especially about another college football coach, it's worthwhile to hear him out.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Deion Sanders," Saban told reporters during Wednesday's Southeastern Conference coaches' teleconference call. "First, he's a great person, and he's done a great job of marketing the program to create a lot of national interest, but I see their team playing well on the field."

Sanders is taking the college football world by storm while leading the Colorado Buffaloes to a 3-0 record and a No. 19 ranking in an Associated Press top 25 poll.

Colorado was 1-11 last season before Sanders arrived, bringing in 58 transfers, including two of his sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback Shilo Sanders, as well as two-way star Travis Hunter.

Having a roster with over 80 new players is unconventional, but the results are working. Saban said he was among the over 9 million people who watched Colorado's overtime comeback win against Colorado State.

"They play with discipline. They do a good job of executing," Saban said. "They've been able to score points, play decent on defense. All those things to me are an indicator he's a really good coach."

Saban's relationship with Sanders started with the pair filming commercials for insurance company Aflac.

Sanders praised his fellow insurance pitchman on Sunday during an appearance on CBS' 60 Minutes.

"I love, and I adore, and I respect, and every time I do a commercial with Saban, it's a gift," Sanders said. "Just sitting in his presence and hearing him and throwing something else out there, so I can hear his viewpoint on it because he's forgotten more things than I may ever accomplish.

"So I'm a student looking up to this wonderful teacher, saying, 'Just throw me a crumb of what you know,'" he said.

Sanders started his college coaching career at Jackson State with a 27-6 record. He won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title in consecutive seasons before signing a five-year contract worth $29.5 million with Colorado.

Coach Prime started his journey in coaching at a high school he founded called Prime Prep Academy, located in a Dallas suburb. He then moved on to become an offensive coordinator in Cedar Hills, Texas, at Trinity Christian High School, where Sheduer was his quarterback and Shilo played offense and defense.

"I've always thought he's a good coach," Saban said. "He's always been successful, whether at Jackson State, high school or now at Colorado. His teams have always been well coached."

No. 19 Colorado (3-0) is on the road this week against No. 10 Oregon (3-0). Colorado is a 21-point underdog, according to DraftKings as of Wednesday afternoon. No. 13 Alabama (2-1) hosts No. 15 Ole Miss. DraftKings favors the Crimson Tide by a touchdown.