Will Anderson Jr. is back in action for Alabama — at least in practice. During Nick Saban’s appearance on the weekly SEC teleconference, the head coach updated the status of his starting outside linebacker, stating that Anderson returned to the practice Tuesday after taking Monday off. The sophomore left Saturday’s game against Mercer after taking a blow to the knee during the third quarter.
“Will did practice yesterday, and we’re taking it day by day,” Saban said. “If he continues to make improvement throughout the rest of the week, he could certainly play in the game. If he doesn’t play in the game, we have several other players at the position. (Chris) Braswell and Dallas Turner.
“We’ve already lost Chris Allen at that position. Those two guys were both really unique players. I’m not sure you really replace them, but these other guys are really capable. They don’t have the same amount of experience, but we’re certainly confident that they can go in and do a good job for us.”
Monday, Saban said the team has been encouraged by the progress Anderson has made following his injury over the weekend. Through two games, the sophomore has recorded 12 tackles, including a sack and two stops for a loss. Against Mercer, Anderson was replaced by Braswell, who recorded three stops with and a quarterback hurry.
Earlier in the day, Florida head coach Dan Mullen updated the status of quarterback Anthony Richardson, who suffered a hamstring injury during last week’s game against South Florida. Richardson has been the Gators’ backup option behind Emory Jones but leads the team with 275 rushing yards on 11 attempts. The redshirt freshman has also completed 6 of 11 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
“He’s done fine,” Mullen said during the SEC teleconference. “He’s practiced every day. He’s still getting treatment, making sure that he’s healthy and ready to go. He’s had a pretty good week of practice.”
No. 1 Alabama (2-0) will travel to No. 11 Florida (2-0) for its SEC opener on Saturday. The game is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally on CBS.
