He was a bad man as a freshman, but Will Anderson Jr. is doing damage this season.
The native Georgian adjusted quickly to Nick Saban’s defensive system and had an impact on the Crimson Tide’s national championship team last year. Anderson finished with 10.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and eight quarterback hurries to pair with 52 total tackles. He made the SEC’s All-Freshman team and was awarded the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year honor.
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Despite his success, Anderson is focused on his sophomore campaign. He has been training all summer to increase his speed, strength, explosion, and total performance.
According to Dr. Matt Rhea, Anderson has a drive about himself and he has the respect of everyone. He does not like to be the subject of a conversation, but Alabama’s Director of Performance Science wanted to shine a light on him. Rhea sees a massive season for Anderson, especially with numbers he posted on the sophomore to Instagram. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder has improved his split jump, landmine press, speed squat, rear elevated, and speed bench numbers from last year. This is scary for opposing quarterbacks in the coming fall.
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After his coach bragged on him, Anderson took to Instagram with a message: “Still got work to do.”
He is currently a preseason first-team selection for Walter Camp, Phil Steele, and Sporting News All-American teams.
If he averages two to three sacks per game, Anderson will rewrite the single-season school sacks record. Derrick Thomas has held the mark (27 sacks) since 1988.
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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.
