A little more than a week ago, Alabama coach Nick Saban made a comment about the defense lacking a “hateful” attitude like those of great Crimson Tide defenses from the recent past.
Maybe that’s true, but there’s no way he was talking about Will Anderson Jr. When your nickname is ‘The Terminator,’ it’s pretty obvious you aren’t about smiles and rainbows on the field.
Saban does, however, enjoy discussing Anderson.
“I can talk about him as long for as you want to talk about him,” Saban said. “Will makes a lot of plays, makes a lot of sacks, plays hard, prepares well and is a great leader on the team. He has passion for the game, he understands the game.”
Anderson was hateful as ever Saturday against Vanderbilt, sacking Commodore quarterback AJ Swann thee times. That gives him 29.5 for his career, which moves him one sack ahead of Jonathan Allen for No. 2 all time in school history. Derrick Thomas (52) holds the No. 1 spot.
“That’s crazy, I just found out about that,” Anderson said of the record. “I like accomplishments. That’s the big thing for me, I tell myself before every game, ‘What kind of legacy are you going to leave for that game or for the University of Alabama?’ To be that bad, tough dude that people respect and look up to, that’s one of the biggest things I want to accomplish here—to leave one of the biggest legacies here at Alabama.”
Anderson, who totaled five tackles Saturday, is part of a Crimson Tide defense that’s relentless against the run. Alabama hasn’t allowed a team to run for more than 79 yards, and Vanderbilt was held to just 14. Part of that was due to minus 33 sack yards, but Anderson and the Tide defense limited the Vandy running backs to 47 rushing yards.
Anderson has 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss through four games, which is on par with his 2021 stats (17.5 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss). After Saturday’s performance, the 2021 Nagurski Award winner feels like he’s finally back to form.
“I always feel like it’s me vs. me,” Anderson said. “One of my biggest goals is to outdo what I did last year. A lot of people think it’s going to be easy, but sometimes it can be hard ... I had to regain my focus and know that it’s me vs. me and I have to be comfortable in my ability.”
Anderson said he felt he wasn’t playing up to that level early on this season. Part of that was the opponent’s game plan for him, and part of it was pressure Anderson put on himself.
“Most definitely it was,” Anderson said. “We want to make plays, but we have to go through our techniques and our rules. I was trying to go out and make plays instead of going out and doing my job and letting it come to me.”
Anderson was just one of a handful of players to come through Saturday.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs ran just three times for 21 yards, but he caught three passes for 43 yards a touchdown. He also had some key blocks to protect Bryce Young in the pocket.
Gibbs didn’t touch the ball until midway through the second quarter, and that was a one-yard gain. He got involved later on that same drive after making a catch across the middle, making two Vandy defenders look silly with some nifty moves, getting out of one tackle and shaking off another to finish the play for a 26-yard gain.
Gibbs later scored on a 7-yard catch for a 28-3 lead.
In the third quarter, Gibbs threw a block on a rushing defender, which allowed Young to connect with Cameron Latu for a 12-yard gain. Gibbs was rewarded on the next play with a 17-yard reception.
The Georgia Tech transfer has been a valuable asset for Alabama, and picking up a new offense with different terminology hasn’t been an issue.
“Experienced players can relate to things they’ve done in the past that are similar to what we do here,” Saban said. “They understand five-man protection, six-man protection, seven-man protection—it just might be called something else.
“Jahmyr is a really bright guy and really contentious. It was an easy transition for us, and it didn’t seem to be a difficult transition for him.”
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