Will Anderson’s statistics are intoxicants, numbers that distort who he really is

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The talent of Alabama junior Will Anderson needs no translation. You don’t have to hear Mel Kiper Jr. break down video to tell you how fast No. 31 gets to the quarterback. There’s a reason Anderson won the 2021 Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation’s best defensive player, and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy vote. Anderson led the nation with 34.5 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks. That’s more sacks than 17 FBS teams.

Those aren’t really statistics. They’re intoxicants, numbers that distort who the real 6-foot-4, 243-pound (and growing) Anderson is. For instance, on a team that returns a Heisman winner at quarterback, there is no question in anyone’s mind about who leads the locker room. If you don’t believe me, ask the Heisman winner.

“I don’t think people understand how smart Will is, how much he means to this team, how in command he is, how much of a leader he is for us,” quarterback Bryce Young said. “Being around him, knowing the person he is, knowing what he stands for, knowing how he carries himself in all facets of life, he is the complete package.”

About those facets: There was the young mom at the Atlanta airport, struggling to wrangle her luggage and a baby. Anderson stepped in and helped her, and they chatted, and he told her he was a football player at Alabama, and the woman was so moved she contacted the football office to tell them what a fine young man Alabama had. Anderson had yet to play a down.

There is the brother of five sisters, who by Anderson’s telling will never let his head swell. “If they don’t get me right outside the locker room, we have a big family group chat,” he said. “My immediate family, my mom and dad and all my sisters, and they get to texting me. ‘Good game, but you could have done this better. I don’t know what you were looking at right here on this play.’ I’ll promise you, they literally stop the TV: ‘What are you doing right here?’ ”

Anderson may be kind to young mothers, respectful to his sisters and engaging with interviewers. But there is little to match the glee he displayed as he discussed the physical and emotional ferocity he employs to disrupt an offense.

“Going out there and getting to strike somebody – there’s nothing like it,” Anderson said. “You’re going out there and get to strike somebody’s son, and embarrass him, and I think that’s one of the best things that gets me going. Somebody had the audacity to line up in front of you? No, I’m going to make you regret lining up in front of me. … I like to go hit people. I like to make people feel pain. It’s fun. You’re going out there and you get to abuse somebody, and it’s fun. And you don’t go to jail for it.”

This is the same guy who participated in a phone bank last fall for Alabama scholarship athletes to call donors to express appreciation. A half-dozen or so Tide fans heard, “Hello, my name is Will Anderson, and I would like to thank you … ”

Athletic director Greg Byrne wants his athletes to understand “that there are real dollars and real people who are investing in their experience. At Alabama, if you’re on a full-ride scholarship, not counting one dollar in salaries, we spend on average about $147,000 on you. That doesn’t count facilities, either. … Will’s got a chance to have a very successful football career after Alabama, but at some point, football’s going to end. To learn those skills to communicate is critical, too.”

The role of vocal leader didn’t come easily to Anderson. He cares what people think about him, and as a sophomore last season, he hesitated to assert leadership. Think about it. There’s no guarantee a player who squeezes his entire college football experience into three calendar years – Anderson enrolled in January 2020 and is on track to graduate in December – will mature emotionally as quickly as he blows through his curriculum.

But after Alabama lost at Texas A&M 41-38 last season, giving up 10 points in the last five minutes, Anderson decided he needed to be vocal. Before the national championship game against Georgia, Saban addressed a team meeting and asked the players to set their curfew. Before anyone could begin the debate, Anderson stood up and said “All you (esteemed teammates) ain’t going anywhere. We’re staying in, Coach.”

Anderson sat down. End of debate.

Saban paid Anderson the greatest compliment the coach knows how to give last November. “The guy’s always trying to get better,” Saban said.

During this offseason, Anderson walked into a scheduled all-team weightlifting session and discovered that two freshmen failed to attend. One had his ankle in a boot. One claimed to be ill. After the lift, Anderson walked into the training area, grabbed the two no-shows and marched them to the practice field, where he made them roll themselves down the field.

Because the NFL doesn’t allow players only two years out of high school to play on Sundays, Anderson returns to disrupt the sleep cycles of opposing offensive tackles and quarterbacks in 2022. He is the consensus favorite to be the first defender hugged by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next April. First things first. Anderson has won one national championship game and lost the last one 33-18 to Georgia in January. He likes winning better.

Anderson said he has watched the video of the Georgia game just once.

“It’s always going to be in my head and in my heart,” Anderson said, pointing to each. “I know. I don’t need to go watch it. I know it fuels me and the team already. We know what we gotta go do.”

Anderson’s desire needs no translation, either.