He is no longer considered a freshman at this point in the season; however, the final game of his first year at the University of Alabama will be for a College Football Playoff National Championship.
In a strong lineage of pass rushers under Nick Saban, William Anderson has shown promise to be just as fearsome as Courtney Upshaw, Rashaan Evans, Ryan Anderson, Tim Williams, Anfernee Jennings and Terrell Lewis.
As a five-star from Hampton, Ga., Anderson did not have spring football nor did he have a typical summer or fall program. However, the explosive edge player and sack specialist made it work to his advantage. He was impressive in the weight room over the summer and impressed the coaching staff enough in preseason camp to earn the starting job at jack linebacker.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder immediately stood out with his size, length and quickness versus Missouri and things took off for him. He was awarded Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff in his performances against Mississippi State, LSU, Florida and Notre Dame.
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His first career sack did not come until a matchup with Auburn, but Anderson was consistently in the backfield generating confusion for the opponent’s passing attack.
After the Iron Bowl, the freshman phenom would average two sacks per game versus LSU, Arkansas and Florida.
He shares the lead in sacks for Alabama and the Southeastern Conference (seven), while having 10.5 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries (team-high) and one forced fumble.
According to Pro Football Focus, a website that dives into the analytics of college and pro football, Anderson has the most quarterback pressures by a freshman since 2014.
Most QB pressures by a true freshman since 2014:
Will Anderson Jr, Bama (2020) – 56 pic.twitter.com/IpmJRw1fzx
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 8, 2021
With this being mentioned, he will go against an offensive line in Ohio State that’s allowed 20 sacks of Justin Fields.
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Fields, a second-year starter for the Buckeyes at quarterback, was sacked a combined eight times in meetings with Indiana and Northwestern (Big Ten Championship). The pressure that both teams created led to five interceptions for the junior and if not for Trey Sermon at running back, Ohio State would have lost to the Wildcats.
Teams have been focused on stopping Christian Barmore and it has opened opportunities for Anderson. As a Freshman All-SEC selection, he anticipates producing a marquee outing in facing an offensive unit that has encountered struggles in pass protection.
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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
