Last week, William Anderson Jr. became a special member of the Alabama football fraternity.
He was presented the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year award. His performance in 2020 allowed him to be the first freshman in Crimson Tide history to win it. Anderson was thankful to his teammates, coaches, and Shaun Alexander for the honor, but he also expressed gratitude to the coach who has impacted him as a father figure.
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Sal Sunseri, 61, is in his second stint at the University of Alabama.
He served under Nick Saban as an assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach from 2009 to 2011, helping the program capture two BCS national titles. After spending time at Tennessee, Florida State, Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (NFL), and Florida, Sunseri returned to the Tide in 2019 to coach outside linebackers. He earned his fourth national championship last season, and it was his development of Anderson that played a huge role. Sunseri and Karl Scott were the recruiters who got the native Georgian to sign in Alabama’s 2020 freshman class. The former five-star was dominant at Dutchtown High School, but he’s earned the nickname “Terminator” for his efforts in college. Anderson was a Freshman All-American, a Freshman All-SEC selection (league’s coaches), and made second-team All-SEC (Associated Press). He finished third in the Southeastern Conference for sacks (seven) and tackles for loss (10.5). The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder had 52 tackles, eight quarterback pressures (team-high), one forced fumble, and one blocked field goal. Anderson instantly became a favorite among the fans; however, he is prepared for his sophomore year.
One thing he enjoys about Sunseri is being able to study NFL film with him.
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“He has been great. He took me under his wing,” Anderson said. “The thing with Coach Sal is we watch a lot of NFL film, and that is a great thing to do. You are watching guys that have experience, and it’s where you want to be. He always says the SEC is the best conference. It is like you are playing in the NFL, in our opinion at Alabama. He is a great coach. He is going to get on you hard. He is going to coach you hard, but as far as technique-wise, he has done a great job.”
Sunseri has coached a couple of Alabama legends such as Eryk Anders and Courtney Upshaw, but Anderson is the best of the group. He has the potential to break school records, and he intends on doing it in the fall. It is going to be exciting to see what Sunseri pulls out of the sophomore.
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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.
