From an outside perspective, Will Anderson was known as a tenacious, relentless, and fierce football player with a vibrant personality off the field during his time at Alabama. However, what remained hidden from the public was the internal struggle he faced, particularly in his final season with the Crimson Tide.
In an interview with Tyler Dunne of Go Long, Anderson opened up about a difficult 2022 season at Alabama, which saw a decline in his performance compared to his dominant 2021 campaign. This decline led him to question his faith and grapple with depression, leaving him feeling lost.
“My faith was very low — questioning God. Depressed. All those things,” Anderson said. “Now that I look back on it, I wish I could do so many things differently. My last year at Alabama, I was just lost. I was lost.”
In 2022, Anderson’s sacks dropped from 17.5 the previous year to 10, his tackles for loss decreased from 34.5 to 17, and his total tackles were cut in half from 102 to 51. A significant factor in this drop in production was a change in his defensive alignment under new outside linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler, who replaced veteran coach Sal Sunseri.
Anderson explained to Dunne that he was moved to the “4i” position, lining up on the inside shoulder of the offensive tackle, which took away the edge-rushing angles where he had thrived the year before. Although he didn’t elaborate on his disagreements with Hutzler, Anderson admitted, “We didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things.” Despite Alabama finishing the season with an 11-2 record and Anderson still being regarded as one of the best defensive players in the country, the pressure from external expectations and his internal struggles wore him down.
“I wasn’t standing firm on who I was,” Anderson reflected. “I wasn’t standing firm on the foundation my parents had already built for me. I was letting that stuff feed into me. All that negativity. And it was just wearing me down, wearing me down, wearing me down. I had to really suck it up and say, ‘Let’s just get through the season. Let’s just do what you need to do and get out of there.’”
Despite the statistical decline, Anderson’s draft stock remained strong, with the Houston Texans trading up to select him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He went on to find peace at the NFL level, helping Houston reach the playoffs and earning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
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