Nick Saban jokes with the media when talking about Will Anderson

Nick Saban fully understands the importance of Will Anderson to the Alabama Crimson Tide defense.

Anderson was one of the top defenders in the country last season and is back in Tuscaloosa for another run in 2022. The Alabama head coach was asked about the star linebacker following Saturday’s spring game.

“Yeah he played well,” Saban said of Anderson’s production in 2021. “Will is a great competitor, so every situation that he’s in, whether it’s practice — regardless of the situation, he gives 100 percent. He sets a great example for the other guys on the team, he’s a really good leader. I think his knowledge of the defense and the things we are going to ask him to do, you know he did really well last year, and hopefully he can continue to make progress in a lot of areas.”

Nick Saban then pivoted and had a little fun with the media when talking about Anderson.

“Somebody asked me the other day ‘what’s Will’s weakness’? And I said he has to learn more about pass coverage because he plays a position where every now and then he has to drop. But you all are all gurus of the game so should we spend a lot of time on having him drop or rush,” Saban said with a grin waiting for a response from the media.

“So his weakness is pass coverage?” Saban joked. “But he helps the pass defense when he sacks the quarterback.”

Nick Saban shares what he learned from the Alabama spring game

Following a big day on the field for their defensive stars, Alabama’s defense gave plenty of film for the offense to work with. Saban’s only specific takeaway from the contest that he mentioned was the pass rush’s effectiveness against their offensive line.

“I think you learn about your team all season long, but today was a day that you really see showtime,” said Nick Saban after the game. “You know, who can play, who couldn’t play. Who could go out there and be responsible to do the things that they needed to do to play winning football. We’re gonna learn a lot about the guys that did that. Obviously we had a tough time blocking the pass rush, too many sacks. So we’ve got a lot of things to work on. But it’s good to know. And we’ve got other good players that we’re trying to get in there so we do better in the fall.

Saban was then asked which dinner he gets as the head coach, since the winners of the game traditionally get steak dinners while the losers eat “beans and weenies” afterwards.

“Whichever I choose, but most of the time I think you can answer that,” joked Nick Saban.

Not even former Heisman winners are exempt from eating weenies after the loss, as quarterback Bryce Young was the leader of the losing Crimson team. The scrimmage attempts to even out the squads by pairing first-team offense with second-team defense on the Crimson team, while the White team fields the first-team defense and second-team offense.

The White team finished the day with ten sacks, including three from linebacker Dallas Turner. Additionally, they held Young and the Crimson offense to just 201 total yards on the day — a dominating day for the defense.