Will Anderson honoring his late grandmother during breakout freshman season

It’s not easy to contain Will Anderson Jr. on the field. Off of it, Betty Taylor always managed to keep her youngest grandson well-grounded.

The Andersons regularly have to correct themselves when referring to Taylor. Tereon Anderson, Will’s mother, still finds herself calling her mother-in-law Will’s mom. It’s an easy mistake considering Will even spent his fifth-grade year living with Taylor 10 minutes away from his parents’ home in Stockbridge, Ga.

Taylor instilled the love of God in Will. The two used to make banana pudding together, and Will would follow along as she volunteered for Meals on Wheels. She taught him how to be a gentleman away from football but could also keep up with his rough-and-tumbled nature.

When Will’s father, “Big Will,” would ask his son to go fishing, the linebacker would always make sure there was an extra pole for grandma as well. Normally, it was Taylor who’d end up reeling in the most fish between the three of them. Even as she reached her 80s, the energetic grandmother could be found wrestling her teenage grandson to the floor during impromptu sparring sessions back home.

And when it came to watching Will on the football field, Taylor was generally in attendance. Sometimes, Will Sr. would have to carry her up the stands. Other times, she’d slowly make her way to her seat on her walker. However, when Will looked up from the field, Taylor was often there waving him on.

“That's all she used to talk about, ‘I want to go see my boy play, I'm going to make this game,’” Will Sr. told BamaInsider. “She made every game she could possibly make. And I think when Will looked up there and saw her sitting in the stands, it just made him feel good.”

Tragedy hit the Anderson family earlier this year as Taylor passed away on March 5 from complications caused by COVID-19. Within the month, Will’s grandparents on his mother’s side, Shirley and Gary Collins, were hospitalized due to the virus as well. Shirley was able to return home after a week, while Gary was put on a ventilator and needed to stay in the hospital for six weeks.

The turmoil coincided with Alabama’s canceled spring practice as Will was sent back home to Georgia deprived of crucial preseason reps as he prepared for his first season of college ball. The multiple hardships weighed heavily on the five-star freshman but none hit him as deep as the loss of Taylor.

Taylor was one of the few people Will confided in. If the star defender had a good game, she’d be the first person he’d share his excitement with. When he struggled, she was often the only one who could console him. Their countless hours spent fishing involved several heart-to-hearts as the two talked about life while Taylor told Will stories about his grandfather.

“He had a tough time with her passing, and he fought through it,” Tereon told BamaInsider. “He prayed a lot, he trained a lot, and he leaned on the family a little more than what I was accustomed to seeing him do. He really tries to handle everything on his own and not bother people too much, but this is the one time he really leaned on family and let people in.”

One of the coping methods involved adding to the family’s five aquariums. Oftentimes words weren’t needed as Will and his father would sit together and watch Taylor’s favorite fish swim by while remembering their times together with her on the bank.

Tereon also credited Alabama for helping the family through its trying times during the spring. The Anderson’s received plenty of encouragement from Tide fans over social media while Alabama’s support staff along with outside linebackers coach Sal Sunseri made sure to constantly check in on the family during its healing process.

However, for Will, one of the best grieving methods came through hard work.

Training at home over the spring, the freshman linebacker would wake up at 5 a.m. to make his way down to the field at Dutchtown High School for 100-yard sprints. From there he would eat and rest up before hitting the gym to train in the afternoon. Working out was a way for Will to take his mind off the situation but also honor his late grandmother.

“I think it just made him think about her and how she wanted him to do the very best that he can do in life,” Will Sr. said. “And she always told him, ‘You can be whatever you want to be in life and go as far as you want to go, but you have to be the one to take yourself there.’ So I think, him thinking about her made him work harder for what he wanted.”

Along with his early-morning routine, Will also trained with former Baylor defensive end Dwight Johnson, who spent three seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and New England Patriots. From 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, the two would work on fine-tuning Will’s skills for the college level, focusing specifically on hand placement as well as get-off.

“Once he found out that spring training was called off, he called me like ‘Hey, Coach. I'm back home. I need to train,” Johnson told BamaInsider. “He pretty much buried himself in the gym. I think it was an outlet to help him get through this tumultuous time losing his grandmother. Then, you're dealing with COVID-19 on top. I can tell he was a little antsy too, because he was always ready to put the pads on. He wanted to go out there and show them what he's got.”

Will did just that upon returning to Alabama.

The five-star prospect earned the starting role at Jack linebacker, becoming the first true freshman to do so during head coach Nick Saban’s 14-year tenure with the Tide. Through 10 games, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound defender leads the SEC and ranks No. 5 nationally with 47 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

After demonstrating an ability to get into the backfield earlier this season, Will has taken his game to new heights in recent weeks, recording five sacks over his last three games against Auburn, LSU and Arkansas.

Watching Will’s games from early in the season, Johnson noticed the freshman edge rusher wasn’t getting his hips high enough in his stance which was affecting his ability to explode off the line. When Will returned home to Georgia during Alabama’s open week in early November, the trainer helped correct his protégé, tweaking his form a bit while providing him with a few more finishing moves to get past opposing lineman.

“I think that was what made the difference,” Johnson said. “I just told him to get his butt up in his stance and focus on working half a man. I said, ‘Don't run down the middle of a big, 330 pound offensive lineman, you've got to stay on one half of him.’

“You can see a lot of difference from the beginning of the season to now. His mind has caught up to the speed of the game. Now he’s able to focus more on technique and his finishing moves.”

Heading into Saturday’s SEC Championship Game, Will leads Alabama with eight quarterback hurries. He’s also second on the team with 8.5 tackles for a loss and tied for second with five sacks. His five sacks are tied with West Virginia defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor for most by a true freshman.

“Will’s played well for us all year long,” Saban said during the SEC Championship Game teleconference Thursday. “He's one of the young players that I was talking about that obviously got a lot better through the game experience, knowledge and experience, that he gained throughout the season. He has played extremely well. He's more comfortable and confident in what he's supposed to do and has the confidence that he can do it well in the game.”

Saturday’s SEC Championship Game will serve as a homecoming for Will as Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is roughly 30 minutes away from his home in Stockbridge. The Andersons, who have five daughters and another son along with Will, are still battling over who will get tickets to the game. Although, however that shakes out, there will still be a noticeable absence in the crowd.

These are the type of moments Taylor lived for. If she were alive today, best believe she’d be one of the loudest fans in crimson come Saturday night.

“She would be hollering, ‘Oh look at my baby, or look at my grandson,’” Tereon said. “We’ve thought about that after each of Will’s accomplishments this season, just reminiscing about what her response or reaction would be as he continues on with football.”

While Will won’t see Taylor waving down to him when he looks up at the crowd Saturday night, she’ll certainly be there in memory. After all, her kind heart and fiery spirit live on in the man she helped raise.