The music that makes Alabama's Terminator tick

Here’s a public service announcement for Miami players heading into Saturday’s season opener against Alabama: If 90s R&B music begins emanating from the Crimson Tide’s locker room, it’s time to start getting worried.

There are two sides to Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. The first is a friendly, fast-talking young man who routinely sports an ear-to-ear grin when speaking to reporters in front of cameras. The other is arguably the nation’s most destructive defensive force, one former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian dubbed “The Terminator.”

"People always say that," Anderson said of his two personas. "They always say, 'you're so different on and off the field.' When I get on the field I have to switch it. Like I don't want to go out there and get embarrassed by anybody. It's a different Will Anderson when I step out on the field."

So how does the fun-loving linebacker transform into The Terminator before games? It begins with a few throwback beats.

“90s R&B. You know, something calm, cool and collected,” Anderson explained. “I’ll just listen to a little 90s, you know what I’m saying? Just gets me in my mood, just mellows me out and chill.”

To be clear, there’s nothing mellow or chill about Anderson’s game. Just ask the offensive linemen who are tasked with trying to stop him during practice.

“Imagine giving up a sack and you hear him singing Candy Rain,” Alabama left guard Javion Cohen posted on Twitter following Anderson’s interview Tuesday.

Anderson was born in 2001, nearly a decade after most of his favorite pre-game tunes came out. The love of old-school R&B comes from his mother, Tereon Anderson, who introduced it to him at a young age.

Saturday mornings were reserved for cleaning in the Anderson household, and there were three radio options that accompanied chores: gospel, 90s R&B and the weekly oldies show hosted by longtime Atlanta radio DJ, Youngblood.

Will’s father is a fan of the oldies, so Tereon used to make it a point to race her husband to the dial in order to ensure her taste in music prevailed. Typically it did, and the Andersons would clean to the tunes of Jodeci, 112 and Mary J. Blige.

Tereon figured Will and his five older sisters just put up with her musical preferences. That is until she caught her then-teenage son singing a couple of bars of Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk” one Saturday morning.

“One day we were in the house cleaning up and Will walked by and was like, ‘Last night I, I saw you standing,’” Tereon said. “At first I was surprised to hear him singing. He was singing everything, the song, the chorus. He even did the riffs and all of that. Of course, I was happy because he liked my music.”

A bit taken back, Tereon stopped her son.

“I thought you didn’t like my music,” she said.

Anderson shook his head.

“I don’t like when you and dad play it because y’all sing,” he replied.

It takes a while to get the 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker to open up, but when he does he’s been known to carry a tune. According to Tereon, her son’s favorites mirror her own as he listens to Jodeci and 112 as well as New Edition and Jon B.

“When Will really needs to zone out and be one with himself, most of the time that’s what we’re going to hear,” Tereon said. “Whether he’s just studying or he goes to the lake, he’s going to put it on, and that’s just his time.”

Anderson’s progression into game mode doesn’t begin on Saturdays. According to Tereon, her son generally shuts down communication on either Wednesday or Thursday of game week. From there, the family knows not to expect many responses from the linebacker as he gears up for that week’s matchup.

“That’s his thing,” Tereon explained. “We might send him a message and he’ll like it or love it or something, but we really don’t do a whole lot of talking before the game. It’s been like that since high school. It’s just his way of getting himself ready.”

Friends and family might have trouble contacting Anderson the rest of the week, but they should have an easier time seeing him on the field Saturday. Alabama opens up its season against Miami inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, roughly 30 minutes away from Anderson’s home in Stockbridge, Ga.

The game will mark Anderson’s second return to his home state since joining Alabama as the five-star linebacker recorded two sacks and a forced fumble during the Crimson Tide’s victory over Florida in last year’s SEC Championship Game. While COVID-19 prevented much of Anderson’s family and friends from taking in that performance, Tereon said her son will have more supporters in attendance this year as Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be at full capacity.

“It’s always exciting just because I get to go home to Georgia again and play in the stadium, the dome,” Anderson said. “It’s great. I love it. Just kind of take the same thing with me. Just have fun, go out there and do my job and help my teammates.”

And if a bit of 90s R&B breaks out on the field, all the better.