Lane Kiffin makes a pair of NFL comparisons for Alabama’s Will Anderson

Alabama linebacker Will Anderson has become a dominant force in his sophomore season. The former five-star recruit showed flashes of what he could become in 2020 and has built on his early success this season. Among the latest to praise Will Anderson is Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who is preparing to face the fierce pass rusher on Saturday.

Lane Kiffin compared Will Anderson to two NFL All-Pro defensive ends, calling Anderson the best of a talented bunch on Alabama’s defense.

“He’s a dominant player,” Kiffin said on the SEC Teleconference. “I said this week that he looks like Derrick Thomas, which is amazing at this age. The guy’s just a freak. … He’s not as tall as Myles Garrett, but he’s as disruptive as that. They’ve got great players all over, but he’s the best of all of them.”

To be placed in the same conversation as two NFL stars is quite an honor for Will Anderson, who will not be draft eligible until 2022.

Will Anderson finished third in the SEC with seven sacks and third with 10.5 tackles for loss last season, earning him freshman All-American honors. He also totaled 34 tackles and forced a fumble as a freshman. He started the 2021 campaign with 19 tackles in three games with one sack.

So far, the 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker is well on his way to making his own mark in the NFL.

More comments on Will Anderson

Anderson missed part of the Week Two game against Mercer and was not 100 percent in the Florida game, leading him to miss the following week against Southern Miss. Alabama coach Nick Saban heaped praise on the young star, calling him a “warrior” after fighting through the pain.

“You have an opportunity, when you’re not 100 percent, to show that you’re a warrior,” Saban explained. “That you can go out there and play, be Player of the Week when you weren’t 100 percent. And he wasn’t 100 percent. He didn’t practice all week and he got tired in the game. He practiced some, but he didn’t practice like he always does. And he got tired in the game and he persevered. He showed a warrior mentality.”

Saban continued his praise of Anderson with a rave review of his impact, on and off the field.

“[The warrior mentality] creates tremendous value to me for any player who can do that, and he did it. So, I don’t see him being a work-in-progress at all. I see him being one of the guys on our team that plays to the standard that we want guys to play to,” Saban said. “He does it all the time and he does it on a consistent basis and he sets a great example for every other player who wants to be successful. Why don’t they play like that? Why don’t they do that? I think he’s got some leadership qualities that are going to grow and develop as we go through this season and in the future.”