Motivation and focus were never an issue for Will Anderson Jr., the 2022 CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year
Motivation and focus were never an issue for Will Anderson Jr., the 2022 CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year: The defensive coordinator of Anderson, Will Rogers, remembers the award-winning defender lining up against attack in drills.
“We had to get him out,” said Rogers, who was in Deutschtown his entire high school career. “We couldn’t get anything done [offensively]. I heard they do the same thing in Alabama. They should get his ass out of there.”
There is no official word about Anderson’s influence on the practices of Alabama. These are mostly kept away from prying eyes.
Anderson emerges as a unanimous pick for the 2022 CBS Sports/247Sports Preseason All-America and Best Preseason Player of the Year. He is about to enter the season as the nation’s top defender, unanimous pre-season all-American. He can be the no.1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
At the age of 19, Anderson became the first freshman to start as a linebacker for the coach of Crimson Tide, Nick Saban. As a sophomore last season, Anderson led his country in sacks (17.5) and tackle loss (34.5). No player in the Power Five has ever topped in both categories in the same season for at least 13 years. Pro Football Focus recognizes Anderson as the second sophomore to lead the country in overall pressures (82).
But Anderson’s influence is far beyond his statistics line. In an age when edge racers are prized, Bama’s watchers are breaking out of the vault and researching the program’s history. Ultimately, Anderson is the one to be considered among the best Tide players ever in his position after playing only two seasons of his career.
“It’s like the 15th question I asked about that,” Anderson inquired last month at SEC Media Days when asked about comparisons to Thomas. “I watched the clips. He is a Weird athlete.”
Thomas Anderson was actually more than that. In 1988, he was placed 10th in the Heisman Trophy vote. He went on to score 27 school sacks. That was 12 years ahead of the NCAA even starting tracking the statistic. His legend grew in the National Football League. At the time of Thomas’ death in 2000, he possessed the ninth largest sack in NFL history. His record of seven was never broken in a single game.
Rogers noted, “He’s got a splash like you wouldn’t believe it, and he’s speeding through the intrusions. Most people deal with them and kind of pull.”
“His ability to get off the ball is amazing,” expressed Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud. He played against Anderson in the 2020 U.S. Army Championship. “He is smarter than anyone else.”
Anderson emerged so dominant that he became a Heisman Award favorite, rather than a nominee. Winning the award motivates him after his elimination from the final round in 2021.
“The reason I put [the Heisman] “My goal this year is not just for me but for the young athletes who play in defense as well,” Anderson said on the paper. “We are capable. We are worthy.”
This individual, Anderson, is extremely capable and more than worthy.
“I love football a lot,” Anderson informed when asked by CBS Sports about having to play a third season. “I cannot just sit in the suburbs and watch other people play football. I would be so excited to get out there. I made a commitment, and I am going to stick with it.”
“I know for a fact that it’s a completely different game in South Georgia,” Anderson said. “The way they play sports, the way they compete. They are not really flashy. They just want to move between the lines and play football. Here in North Georgia, you have the flashy guys, the guys that want to look good, play well.”
All this led to a more mature form of motivation. Anderson possesses a lot of it.