SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide addresses the media during the Head Coach Press Conference for the College Football Playoff National Championship at JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn on January 10, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

Nick Saban pays Washington's defense the ultimate compliment

Coming from Saban, that means a whole lot.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is not usually one to hand out compliments to just anyone, but he gave a pretty big one to Washington's defense. In a press conference before the Peach Bowl —- where the Crimson Tide will face Washington —- Saban compared the Huskies defense to a pretty good professional team.

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Washington's defense is allowing less than 200 yards passing and has 19 interceptions on the season, which is tied for sixth in the country. So when Saban says that Washington might be "Seahawk-like", he might actually mean it:

"They're very good, they have length at corner, they're very good cover guys. I think the scheme that they play, they don't make a lot of mistakes. They're sort of a little bit Seattle Seahawk-like in the fact that we're gonna do what we do and we're gonna do it really well. They do a great job of executing the things that they play. They do a great job of breaking on the ball."

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Saban is obviously a very good coach, if not the best one in the country. He's also known as a defensive-minded coach who played defensive back in college and coached it at numerous stops on the college and pro levels. He is one of the pioneers of pattern matching zone defense in pass coverage, so when he speaks about DBs and DB play he's got more than a little authority.

[h/t SB Nation]