Ed Orgeron has high praise for Nick Saban, Tua Tagovailoa

Ed Orgeron is preparing for arguably the toughest test of his coaching career, and the level of respect the LSU coach has for his upcoming opponent is apparent.

While speaking with reporters on the SEC’s weekly teleconference Wednesday, Orgeron called Nick Saban’s program at Alabama the “benchmark” for all other teams. He took things a step further by calling him the greatest college football coach of all time.

“He’s going to go down as the greatest college football coach in the history of the game,” Orgeron said, per Brooks Kubena of The Advocate. “So give him the credit, what they’ve done at Alabama. And we’ve got to beat them to get where we want to go. That’s the fact.”

That isn’t exactly a stretch, as Saban has now won six national championships and five with Alabama. He won three straight from 2014 to 2016, and this year’s Crimson Tide team looks like one of the strongest in the program’s history.

A big part of the reason Alabama has looked unstoppable this year is sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, whom Orgeron also went out of his way to praise.

“I think he’s the best player in college football,” the Tigers coach said. “He’s very instinctive. He’s got a good release. Got a good offense. He’s a great young man. I know him and his family. I think he’s the best player in college football.”

LSU is ranked No. 4 in the nation and having one of its best seasons in recent years, so you can’t overstate how big an upset would be for Oregeron’s team. If you saw how hard Ed O celebrated after LSU’s big win over Auburn, you can only imagine what he might do if his Tigers beat the Tide.