Nick Saban updates the status of injured LB Will Anderson

One of the top defenders in the country, Alabama fans held their collective breath when Will Anderson left Saturday’s win against Mercer with an injury. However, Nick Saban provided some relief with his latest update.

“Will did practice yesterday and we’re taking it day-by-day,” Saban said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “If he continues to make improvement throughout the rest of the week, he could certainly play in the game.”

Of course, there is a plan in place should Anderson be unable to go Saturday.

“If he doesn’t play in the game, we have several others that have played consistent at the position – (Chris) Braswell and Dallas Turner,” Saban continued. “We’ve already lost Chris Allen at the position, and both those guys are unique players and I’m not sure you really replace them. But these other guys are capable. They’re young guys, don’t have the same amount of experience, but we’re certainly confident they can go in and do a good job for us.”

Anderson practiced on Monday after previously being expected to take the day off, which is certainly an encouraging sign. As the Crimson Tide are without linebacker Christopher Allen for the remainder of the season, Anderson becomes even more important to their success.

This week, Alabama faces their biggest test yet — a Florida Gators team featuring a dangerous offense. To stop the quarterback duo of Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson, Saban will want Anderson on the field.

It’s still early, but it seems Anderson is trending in the right direction.

Will Anderson: star of Alabama’s defense

Anderson is one of the top pass rushers in college football. He finished third in the SEC with seven sacks and third with 10.5 tackles for loss last season, earning him freshman All-American honors. Anderson also blocked a kick in the College Football Playoff. He also totaled 34 tackles and forced a fumble as a freshman.

Before going down to injury, Anderson had three tackles and one tackle for loss against Mercer. The majority of Anderson’s production in his impressive freshman campaign came during the later parts of the season. A big part of that was a growth in confidence.

“I would most definitely say my confidence,” Anderson said, per Michael Casagrande of AL.com. “My confidence clicked for me. Me being confident in myself, knowing — I always knew my job, but I was always trying to play it safe a little bit. And I think when I just took the game for what it was and grew into myself and said, ‘OK, this is your job, now let’s play football, let’s be Will Anderson.’ My confidence grew, and I think that’s what helped me midway through the end of the season.”

Alabama is, to no surprise, again sitting atop the latest AP Top 25 Poll. After this weekend’s trip to take on Florida, Alabama will return home to face Southern Miss. Then, the Crimson Tide has a tough two game stretch, with games against Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

On3’s Jonathon Wagner contributed to this article.