Tennessee football: Top 10 SEC stars Vols have to account for in 2022
Linebacker. Alabama Crimson Tide. 829. 2. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Will Anderson Jr.
6’4″ 243 pounds
Two edge rushers have a case to be on here, Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama and Nolan Smith of Georgia. While the potential is on Smith’s side, Anderson is the proven producer, and given how dominant he was last year, it’s fair to start talking about him as a dark-horse Heisman contender. Yes, an edge rusher should earn that praise.
Anderson had an insane 31 tackles for a loss and 17.5 sacks last year. You couldn’t even do that in the old NCAA Football games. Add in his three pass deflections and 101 total tackles, 56 of which were solo, and he was dominant. Oh, it was only his second year playing college ball too.
Against Tennessee football, Anderson had two sacks. Shockingly, that was below his average. With Cade Mays gone at right tackle and Darnell Wright moving from left tackle to fill that void, the Vols bring plenty of legitimate questions this year when it comes to pass protection.
On top of that, Hendon Hooker did have an issue last year with pocket presence and avoiding the sacks. Those two things set Anderson up nicely to torch Tennessee football, and if the Vols aren’t careful, that’s exactly what he’ll do. Anderson is easily the best defensive player in the SEC, and he adds to Alabama’s amazing legacy under Nick Saban.