For a second, Will Anderson’s life — and perhaps Alabama’s season — flashed before his eyes. The cardinal sin of any defender during practice is to lay hands on your quarterback. That especially holds true when the passer is in the midst of a record-breaking season.
However, during a two-minute drill earlier this season, Anderson found himself in a situation where he couldn’t help but barrel into Bryce Young.
“It’s kind of hard when you’re rushing the passer, and you’re going full speed trying to stop,” Anderson explained Tuesday, stating that he swears that he wasn’t trying to hit the Heisman Trophy finalist. “It's like your natural instinct to put your hands up. So I put my hands up one time, and he was throwing a ball, and my hand came down I think like on his forearm and on his head.”
At that point, the practice came to a standstill.
“It was just like, is Bryce OK?” Anderson recalled. “And my coach Sal [Sunseri], he cussed me out. He’s like, ‘You stupid, I told you, you stupid…’
Much to Anderson’s relief, everything was fine with the star quarterback following the collision.
“It’s OK, it’s good though,” Anderson said with a smile. “That was the only time.”
Young was voted as Alabama’s MVP during the team’s awards banquet Sunday night. During his first season as the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback, the sophomore has completed 68% of his passes for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He’s also added three more scores on the ground.
It’s Young’s elite playmaking ability that led to Anderson’s accidental collision. Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 243-pound edge rusher explained how difficult it is to go up against the dual-threat passer, stating he has every trait imaginable behind center.
“He can run. He can pass. He can extend plays with his arm. He can do everything,” Anderson said. “So in practice, you’re going to see every type of QB there is in the world—a running quarterback, a passing quarterback, everything. He fakes you out. He makes you jump when you’re not supposed to. I remember Coach Saban said something to one of the D-lineman. He says, ‘It’s not basketball.’ Because Bryce made them jump in the air like we was playing basketball.”
Monday, Young was named one of four finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy Award. The sophomore quarterback is the runaway favorite to win the award, especially after setting an SEC Championship Game record with 461 total yards and 421 passing yards during Alabama’s 41-24 victory over Georgia this past weekend.
Anderson has certainly seen enough to throw his support behind his quarterback.
“If you just go back and watch the whole season from beginning to right now, Bryce is very smart, very instinctive,” Anderson said. "He can make plays even in the toughest situations. He can get away from getting sacked. His preparation the whole week and his leadership skills— I think that's what it takes, just being a leader, vocal leader, showing people what to do the right way. He comes to work hard, he never slacks, and I think that's why he should be where he is. And obviously, he's there. So that's why I think that.”
Anderson has had a Heisman-caliber season himself, leading the nation with 15.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for a loss while also posting 91 total stops, nine quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Nevertheless, the sophomore outside linebacker was snubbed as one of the finalists for the award as Michigan defensive end Aiden Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be joining Young in New York this week.
When asked about the omission Tuesday, Anderson didn’t seem concerned, stating that his focus is still on leading his team to a second straight national title.
"You know, it’s God’s plan,” Anderson said. “It’s not my plan, so I’m just following what God’s got for me. I’m just going to keep on rolling. We good. Bryce’s there. We straight."
