Alabama football has a chance to see the best outside linebacker in the Saban era.
When you look at what Nick Saban has done with Alabama football, it seems hard to believe that there is still room for improvement. However, that is the way of the process. With that in mind, Will Anderson might become the best outside linebacker that Saban has ever coached.
Alabama has had studs at every position, and that includes outside linebacker. Still, the level of talent at this position hasn’t met what fans have seen from the rest of the defense. Courtney Upshaw is likely the best, with players like Tim Williams, Ryan Anderson and Terrell Lewis in the mix. That being said, Anderson has what it takes to topple all of them by the time his Alabama football career is over.
Upshaw had an impact in every season, but he only became a sack machine in his junior year. To put it in perspective, Will Anderson had as many sacks as a freshman as Courtney Upshaw had in his junior season with the Crimson Tide.
Injuries limited Terrell Lewis as a collegiate athlete, so it is unfair to compare his stats with anyone else. The only other players with mind-blowing stats were Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson, but neither of them even led the team in sacks. This speaks to a common theme surrounding the Nick Saban era.
While plenty of Alabama football teams get sack production, it mostly comes from the interior of the defensive line. Players like Marcell Dareus, Jonathan Allen and Quinnen Williams have destroyed interior linemen on their way to the quarterback. Because of this, the bar to be the best outside linebacker in the Saban era is not as high as some would think.
With two to three years left before he heads to the NFL, Anderson has plenty of time to make his claim. What do we need to see from him for this to come to fruition?
The key is sustained success. Anderson didn’t register a sack for the first half of the season, but he still ended up being second on the team in sacks. In key games down the stretch, he regularly got at least one sack. Sacks aren’t everything, but this showed his progress as the season continued.
Now, he needs to have a whole season where he racks up the stats as opposed to the final half. If he improves on his sack numbers over the next two years, he will surpass anything a Nick Saban player has ever achieved.
Anderson might not have a chance to break Derrick Thomas’s record, but he can at least be the best pass rusher of the Nick Saban era.