He has not recorded his first career sack yet, but the Southeastern Conference knows he is special.
In a season where Alabama football did not have spring practice and endured a different type of preseason camp, William Anderson has been strong with learning on the fly. The true freshman, who earned the starting job at jack linebacker in fall practice, is getting better with each game. His ability to explode off the edge has opposing head coaches in the conference assigning double-teams to his area.
Even with players focused on him, the native Georgian still went off on last week. Anderson was one of the reasons behind Mike Leach getting shutout for the first time as a head coach.
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Whether it was K.J. Costello or Will Rogers at quarterback for Mississippi State, both felt pressure from Anderson.
His consistent rush forced two interceptions off Rogers, and his performance with setting the edge held the Bulldogs to just 37 yards rushing.
He assisted the Crimson Tide to limiting Mississippi State to 200 yards offensively on an average of 3.2 yards per play. With a five-star talent creating havoc, Alabama had eight quarterback hurries, nine pass breakups and two sacks to pair with three forced turnovers.
Anderson tied his season-high for total tackles (five) and collected a team-high two tackles for loss with two quarterback hurries. Through six games, he has 22 tackles, three stops for loss and four quarterback pressures (tied for team lead).
He was a force in Alabama’s 41-0 win on Nick Saban’s birthday, but he’s ready for more.
Anderson and the Tide are off this week, but will face LSU next week. His first sack is coming soon and when it hits, it will be the first of many.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
