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Linebacker, Alabama, 2020–22
Will Anderson Jr.
- Number
- No. 31
- Height
- 6′4″
- Weight
- 243 lb
- Class (2022)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Hampton, GA
- Born
- Sep 2, 2001, in Hampton, Georgia
Wikipedia readers: about 23,843 a month over the past year
Will Anderson Jr. played linebacker at Alabama (2020–22). He won the 2021 and 2022 Bronko Nagurski Trophies, the 2022 Chuck Bednarik Award and the 2022 Lombardi Award. He finished fifth in the 2021 Heisman vote and was a consensus All‑American in 2021 and 2022. The Houston Texans took Anderson in the first round, No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
12tackles, career highvs. LSU, 20214sacks, career highat Mississippi State, 2021Honors
- 2020Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year
- 2020Second-team All-SEC
- 2021, 2022Bronko Nagurski Trophy
- 2021, 2022Consensus All‑American
- 2021, 2022SEC Defensive Player of the Year
- 2021, 2022First-team All-SEC
- 2021Fifth in the Heisman vote
- 2022Chuck Bednarik Award
- 2022Lombardi Award
- 2022Lott IMPACT Trophy
Team titles: National champions, 2020; SEC champions, 2020 and 2021
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2022 Alabama 12 games, 51 tackles, 10 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. Utah State | W 55–0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | at Texas | W 20–19 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. UL Monroe | W 63–7 | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | vs. Vanderbilt | W 55–3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | at Arkansas | W 49–26 | 7 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | vs. Texas A&M | W 24–20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | at Tennessee | L 49–52 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | vs. Mississippi State | W 30–6 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | at LSU | L 31–32 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | at Ole Miss | W 30–24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | vs. Austin Peay | W 34–0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 26 | vs. Auburn | W 49–27 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2021 Alabama 15 games, 101 tackles, 17.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs. Miami | W 44–13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 11 | vs. Mercer | W 48–14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 18 | at Florida | W 31–29 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 25 | vs. Southern Miss | W 63–14 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2 | vs.Ole Miss | W 42–21 | 9 | 4 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 9 | atTexas A&M | L 38–41 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 16 | atMississippi State | W 49–9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 23 | vs.Tennessee | W 52–24 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | vs.LSU | W 20–14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 13 | vs. New Mexico State | W 59–3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 20 | vs.Arkansas | W 42–35 | 11 | 7 | 3.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 27 | atAuburn | W 24–22 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 4 | vs. Georgia | W 41–24 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 31 ✦ | vs. Cincinnati | W 27–6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 10 ✦ | vs.Georgia | L 18–33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2020 Alabama 12 games, 50 tackles, 5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | at Missouri | W 38–19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 3 | vs.Texas A&M | W 52–24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 10 | atOle Miss | W 63–48 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 17 | vs.Georgia | W 41–24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 24 | atTennessee | W 48–17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 31 | vs.Mississippi State | W 41–0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | vs. Kentucky | W 63–3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 28 | vs.Auburn | W 42–13 | 4 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 5 | atLSU | W 55–17 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 19 | vs.Florida | W 52–46 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. Notre Dame | W 31–14 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 11 ✦ | vs. Ohio State | W 52–24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2023 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′3½″ |
| Weight | 253 lb |
| Arm length | 33⅞″ |
| Hand size | 9⅞″ |
| Wingspan | 81″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.60 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.61 sW |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 50 games with a stat; latest team: Houston Texans.
Pro Bowls: 2 (2023, 2025) · First-team All-Pro (AP): 2025
All-Pro teams: AP first team 2025; Pro Football Writers first team 2025; Sporting News first team 2025.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Houston Texans | 15 | 37 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | Houston Texans | 13 | 33 | 11 | 0 |
| 2025 | Houston Texans | 17 | 50 | 12 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | Houston Texans | 5 | 26 | 7.5 | 0 |
| NFL career | 50 | 146 | 37.5 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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