Will Anderson calls out last season's Alabama team ahead of spring practice

Alabama linebacker Will Anderson isn’t shying away from his role with the team in 2022. Anderson wants to see stronger leadership on the Crimson Tide, and it starts with him.

Coming off of a monster sophomore season in which he recorded 101 tackles (31 for loss) and an FBS-leading 17.5 sacks, the linebacker is embracing that challenge. He has already started trying to improve himself in that regard as Alabama opened spring practice on March 11.

“I think that’s one thing we really lacked last year was good, strong leadership,” Anderson said in a Monday press conference. “I think the leadership group this year, we’ve done a really good job of getting everybody to be bought in to the standard and everything that’s going on here.”

Anderson won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player, this past season while finishing fifth in the Heisman voting. The Crimson Tide advanced to the College Football Playoff Championship, where they fell to SEC foe Georgia.

After that brutal defeat, Anderson plans to take a more vocal leadership approach this year and won’t be afraid to deliver harsh messages if they need to be heard.

“The biggest thing is don’t be scared to say things to people,” the linebacker said. “We’re all brothers, no matter how they take it. It’s all love at the end of the day. So not being scared to step on people’s toes and just being that vocal leader. People are going to respond to how you deal with it and what you say.”

Anderson certainly wasn’t afraid to fill that role last season either. Following an upset loss to Texas A&M in Week 8, he called out his team for not heeding his words after he described a close game with Florida two weeks prior a “wake up call.” Alabama got Will Anderson’s message the second time around and went undefeated the rest of the regular season, winning the SEC Championship game.

“I don’t think it was taken seriously,” Anderson said of his message at the time. “After Florida which was a close game, we end up losing this game. We just really have to focus. We’re in our own way right now.”

With this semester giving him more down time, Anderson also said he has been working hard in his classes in hopes of graduating in December. He would then be eligible to declare for the NFL Draft, where he would surely be one of the top linebackers available.

Alabama will play in its annual spring game on April 16 in Tuscaloosa.