Alabama's Will Anderson primed for big season, plus other notes

Congratulations to Alabama’s offensive linemen. Will Anderson now is someone else’s problem.

Saturday was the last time Tide linemen will be tormented by Anderson, a sophomore outside linebacker, in a scrimmage setting. It also was one final indicator that “The Terminator” is very much set to prove worthy of his nickname in 2021.

Simply put, Anderson looks primed to be one of the nation’s premier pass rushers and defensive players this season after receiving second-team All-SEC recognition as a freshman. Alabama’s offensive linemen can attest to that.

Anderson, a former five-star recruit from Hampton (Ga.) Dutchtown in the Atlanta suburbs, participated in four of the Tide’s five scrimmages this offseason — two during the spring and two during fall camp. The feedback was the same coming out of all four, that he largely was unblockable.

His production Saturday included at least a few sacks, including on back-to-back plays at one point.

“Will is probably the guy that creates more havoc for our defense in terms of his ability to pass rush,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He’s a more complete player now and understands the whole scheme. (He) is very diverse as a player in terms of what he can do. He’s had a really good camp.”

Here are some other Monday notes:

Frank Gore Jr. has chance for ‘great year’ at Southern Miss

This may be the first time since 2004 that Frank Gore won’t be part of an NFL roster, but that doesn’t mean the Gore family won’t be putting up big-time rushing numbers this season.

Frank Jr., a former three-star recruit from Miami Killian, is set to build on a 708-yard freshman campaign at Southern Miss and should be one of the top running backs in Conference USA this season. Gore Jr. capped Golden Eagles fall camp with a second consecutive impressive scrimmage, rushing for 164 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries (10.3 yards per attempt); he added three catches for 36 yards and another touchdown. That came after he produced 77 yards on eight carries and 68 yards on three catches (including a 35-yard touchdown catch) during Southern Miss’ first fall scrimmage.

New Golden Eagles coach Will Hall told On3 that the 5-foot-8 Gore Jr. added close to 10 pounds of muscle this offseason (getting him up to 192 pounds) without losing any speed.

“Really elusive player that enjoys the finer points of football,” Hall said. “Loves to study film, pass protection and why we do what we do in the run game. True football junkie that has a chance to have a great year.”

Frank Gore Sr. has rushed for exactly 16,000 yards in his 16-season NFL career; he has had nine 1,000-yard seasons and rushed for 81 touchdowns. He is one of just four players in NFL history with 15,000 rushing yards (the others are Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders) and one of five with at least nine 1,000-yard seasons (the aforementioned three plus Curtis Martin).

In addition to Frank Gore Jr., here are a few other Southern Miss players worth having on your radar: Linebacker Santrell Latham, who posted 49 tackles and a team-high four sacks in eight games last season, and right tackle Khalique Washington, a three-year starter. As with Gore, both are expected to have first-team all-conference-caliber seasons.

Oklahoma building a big-time 2023 offensive class

It looks like Oklahoma won’t be lacking offensive talent any time in the near future. The Sooners picked up a commitment Sunday from wide receiver Brandon Inniss of Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage. Inniss is a national top-35 prospect overall and the fifth-best wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting class.

Oklahoma’s 2023 class now includes commitments from:

• Five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson of Los Alamitos (Calif.) High, the second-best overall prospect in the 2023 class and the Sooners’ top-ranked quarterback recruit since Rhett Bomar in 2004.

• Two highly ranked wide receivers (Inniss and Makai Lemon, also of Los Alamitos High).

• Running back Treyaun Webb, a top-100 overall prospect from Jacksonville Trinity Christian.

• Four-star tight end Luke Hasz of Bixby (Okla.) High.

A few quick hitters

• Joe Milton continues to be the frontrunner to win Tennessee’s starting quarterback job. Milton, a Michigan transfer who committed to the Vols in late April, has been the primary quarterback with Tennessee’s first-team offense for the better part of the past two weeks. While Milton struggled in his five starts at Michigan last season, he has big-time arm talent and has impressed the Vols staff with his leadership skills.

• Freshman wide receiver Adonai Mitchell still is generating buzz at Georgia. Mitchell, a three-star recruit from Antioch (Tenn.) Cane Ridge in the Nashville suburbs, stood out during the spring and has continued to do so during the summer and preseason camp. At least some at Georgia think he could end up being one of the better wide receivers in the SEC by the end of the season.

• One of the feel-good stories of preseason camp has been Alabama running back Trey Sanders, who has been working back from injuries suffered in a car accident last year. As he did in the Tide’s first scrimmage, Sanders had some standout moments in Alabama’s second scrimmage. Sanders, a former five-star recruit from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, has been competing with Brian Robinson, Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams for playing time in a deep and talented Crimson Tide backfield.