{"id":20036,"date":"2022-07-20T09:20:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T09:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/will-anderson-jr-cried-and-alabama-football-linebacker-brought-it-up\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T09:20:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T09:20:39","slug":"will-anderson-jr-cried-and-alabama-football-linebacker-brought-it-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/will-anderson-jr-cried-and-alabama-football-linebacker-brought-it-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Anderson Jr cried and Alabama football linebacker brought it up"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - Alabama football\u2019s Jordan Battle discusses Nick Saban\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">ATLANTA \u2013 Will Anderson Jr.  cried.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He wasn&#8217;t where he wanted to be physically, mentally or in any other respect when he first made a commitment to play football five years ago as a 10th-grader at Hampton (Georgia) Dutchtown High, and lost control of his emotions in the weight room one day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Forget that he would go from there to become the best defensive player in college football.  The tears are n&#8217;t what&#8217;s important here \u2013 that we learned they fell from his face at all is tells more about Anderson as any tackle or sack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">We know this not because it&#8217;s been written about elsewhere, or because he was asked about it at SEC Media Days on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">We know it because the Alabama star linebacker volunteered it, unsolicited, something few if any of the 41 other players speaking at the College Football Hall of Fame for SEC Media Days would ever acknowledge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Anderson just hits different, and not in the way opposing quarterbacks would attest to, but in the off-field sense of the term.  As unique a person as he is a player.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">With camera lights and flashes popping in their faces incessantly, players here are chosen by their coaches largely because they&#8217;re best equipped to handle the spotlight.  Questions from reporters come rapid-fire, some calling for answers that can&#8217;t be rehearsed in advance, and it&#8217;s easy to see occasional hesitation on players&#8217; faces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">They&#8217;re encouraged to be measured in their responses, and some take that to an extreme.  Their brains whir with instant calculations before they speak, hoping to strike the right balance between answering a question and properly representing self, school and family.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">OPINION:<\/strong>Nick Saban isn&#8217;t losing his grip at Alabama.  He&#8217;s preparing for his finest hour |  Toppmeyer<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">SABAN&#8217;S 15:<\/strong>Celebrate Nick Saban&#8217;s 15 epic seasons at Alabama football with our special book!<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">ALABAMA FOOTBALL ODDS:<\/strong>Alabama football is a national championship favorite, but would it win SEC 3-on-3 basketball too?<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>&#8220;Can I answer that question honestly?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>&#8220;Can I answer it at all?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>&#8220;Will the truth be taken out of context?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Anderson doesn&#8217;t fret over any of that.  There&#8217;s no second-guessing.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">With a wide grin that says he&#8217;s enjoying every moment, he takes on questions the same way he rushes the passer \u2013 not with hesitation but rather a lightning-quick first step \u2013 and an honesty that doesn&#8217;t care to go where other players might not .<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He readily admits being off his game in Alabama&#8217;s lone regular-season loss to Texas A&#038;M last year.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_om\" aria-label=\"Embedded podcast player - SEC 0719\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadOmny\" data-v-src=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/sec-football-unfiltered\/is-greg-sankey-na-ve-to-downplay-what-big-ten-addi\/embed\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He readily admits to being unsure of stepping into a leadership role as a freshman in 2020, when his performance called for it even if his experience level didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Like many, he draws strength from failure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Like few, he&#8217;s open about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">At the same time, he&#8217;s all about the business of winning.  Asked about his coach&#8217;s public spar with Jimbo Fisher in May, Anderson merely pointed toward the schedule.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/01\/11\/NTTN\/13966655-5b2d-4316-b59c-f18926590971-bama54.jpg?resize=660%2C372&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/01\/11\/NTTN\/13966655-5b2d-4316-b59c-f18926590971-bama54.jpg?crop=3299,1856,x0,y0&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t get into social media stuff, I don&#8217;t tweet about it,&#8221; he said.  &#8220;But when we play Texas A&#038;M, everything will be addressed on the field.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Asked about NIL, he had more to say about what the revolutionary new revenue stream for athletes has done for his parents and family than what it&#8217;s done for him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">That&#8217;s what the Alabama defense, which looks to him to speak up when a coach&#8217;s tirade isn&#8217;t getting through, can expect from its undisputed leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A no-nonsense, genuine article.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A joy for the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">An absence of all that&#8217;s fake and superficial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">It&#8217;s no wonder Anderson doesn&#8217;t over-engage on social media.  He&#8217;s too much his own person to go where people often try to be someone else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com.  Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__lp gnt_em_img\"><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:469px\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/16\/NTTN\/730aba9d-fa3b-4184-9f7a-e941c2147b56-TUS_ChaseGoodbreadGC1109.jpg?ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/16\/NTTN\/730aba9d-fa3b-4184-9f7a-e941c2147b56-TUS_ChaseGoodbreadGC1109.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=938&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tuscaloosa News sport columnist Chase Goodbread.  \" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA \u2013 Will Anderson Jr. cried. He wasn&#8217;t where he wanted to be physically, mentally or in any other respect when he first made a commitment to play football five years ago as a 10th-grader at Hampton (Georgia) Dutchtown High, and lost control of his emotions in the weight room one day. Forget that he &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/will-anderson-jr-cried-and-alabama-football-linebacker-brought-it-up\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Will Anderson Jr cried and Alabama football linebacker brought it up<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14262,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/former-panthers-first-round-pick-rashard-anderson-dies-at-45\/","url_meta":{"origin":20036,"position":0},"title":"Former Panthers first-round pick Rashard Anderson dies at 45","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \r \r Getty Images Rashard Anderson, a first-round draft pick of the Panthers in 2000, has died at the age of 45.After a stellar college career at Jackson State, Anderson played in 27 games in two seasons for the Panthers before he was suspended for violating the NFL's substance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Carolina Panthers' Rashard Anderson celebrates at","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/07\/GettyImages-51972248-e1657788433464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14362,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rashard-anderson-former-carolina-panthers-first-round-pick-and-jackson-state-star-dies-at-age-45\/","url_meta":{"origin":20036,"position":1},"title":"Rashard Anderson, former Carolina Panthers first-round pick and Jackson State star, dies at age 45","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Rashard Anderson, a first-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2000 NFL draft, has died. 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Georgia was next closest with 18 votes, South Carolina received three votes, and Vanderbilt and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/07\/19\/NTTN\/a475bd7e-40f5-45a6-a0f5-2d1a803f8337-TUS_SECMediaDaysGC193.JPG?crop=4927,2772,x0,y164&width=660&height=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}