UF’s Muschamp grateful for all Nick Saban did for him

Posted Sep 27, 2011 by David Jones, Florida Today

Updated Sep 27, 2011 at 08:44 AM

The pupil and mentor will compete Saturday night when No. 12 Florida hosts No. 2 Alabama.

Will Muschamp, the rookie head coach of the Gators, learned plenty from Alabama coach Nick Saban as a member of Saban’s staff at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.

Muschamp remains grateful.

“I probably wouldn’t be standing here today if wasn’t for the opportunity he gave me at LSU to be a position coach and then naming me the (defensive) coordinator,” Muschamp said. “Philosophically, we’re on the same page as far as what we want to be defensively from an identity standpoint.”

Muschamp saw plenty of Saban when he studied the Alabama game tape.

“The guy does a great job managing his program top to bottom, from recruiting, philosophically, offense, defense and special teams. And I’ve got great respect. You turn the film on, you see a physically tough football team that plays with fundamentals. That’s what he is and that’s what he preaches every day and it certainly carries over on film as far as who they are and what they are.”

In other news, UF quarterback John Brantley, who took a violent hit in the first half of Saturday’s 48-10 win at Kentucky, said he is fine.