SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: GEORGIA VS ALABAMA

November 29, 2021

Will Anderson

Alabama Crimson Tide

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Workout Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Will, while we wait on questions, please give us your general thoughts on the upcoming game against Georgia.

WILL ANDERSON JR.: It's going to be a good game. It's going to be a challenge. This is why you come to Alabama. You come to Alabama to play in games like this. We just want to prepare the right way, and we're very excited.

Q. As far as adversity, you guys have had some recently, but you also had it earlier in the season as well, games like Texas A&M and Florida. How have you seen your team grow in terms of how it handles these tight games and overall adversity?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: We just turn it into positivity. We don't want anybody around here moping around thinking about what happened in the past. We just like to move on and pick the energy up. I think the energy has been much better in the locker room, on the field, in the facility and meeting rooms. We're having fun doing it.

I think that's one of the biggest things. At first there was a lot of anxiety, a lot of worry, instead of going out there and having fun and playing football. So I think that's what we need to do.

Q. Growing up in the state of Georgia, were you a Georgia Bulldogs fan? How closely did you consider them in the recruiting process?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: Yeah, I did grow up a Georgia fan. I got recruited by them a little bit. I didn't get too much attention from them, but it all worked out well. I'm here at Alabama, and I love it here. It's been great so far.

Q. Will, I don't know how much you've studied the tape of Stetson Bennett, but just talk about how dynamic he is. He's a little bit faster than you think when you see him going downfield. Talk about that.

WILL ANDERSON JR.: He's very fast. He has great feet. He can escape the pocket really well. He can move sideline to sideline. I think the biggest thing right now is we have to keep maintaining the pocket. We can't let him run all over the field and make long drives with his feet. Watching film, I think that's one of the biggest things that we're looking for.

Q. Will, two quick ones. One, have you seen Jordan Davis play on TV or anything or heard much about him?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: Yes, I have. He's a great player. He's big. I think he's like the unit of their defense honestly. He's pretty hard to move around. Just watching him, I feel like he's a really great athlete for that size and he's a really good player.

Q. Two, is it kind of cool to see two defensive players going into this game getting this much -- I know you don't care about the attention, but the respect that opponents have for you and for Jordan?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: I think it's cool. Especially nowadays a lot of defensive guys, you don't get as much attention. But I think it's good. It's cool. I think it's a mutual respect, and I think it's cool.

Q. Kirby Smart said about an hour ago that he didn't know if it was Jamaree Salyer or Broderick Jones that was going to be at left tackle this week. Salyer's been hurt for a little bit. How much do you study, when you can face two different people, how much do you try to study their tendencies and how they may be different from one another when you face the potential of two tackles?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: You always want to go into the game prepared, so you always want to watch both opponents. You never know who's playing, so it's always good to compare. So watching both of them this week will be great because you never know who's going to play. So just the preparation going into the week, and I think a smart move would be to watch both of them.

Q. Has there been one game this year that may have been tougher for you than the rest? You seem to post really good numbers each week and create a lot of havoc. I was just curious, your toughest game this season for you personally and what made it that way?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: All the games have been tough honestly. I don't think it's a single game that's just like -- you're going to get everybody's best. That's what happens when you come to Alabama. You're going to get everybody's best. No game has been easier than the other. No game has been this way or that way. You're going to get everybody's best every game. So all the games have been tough this season.

Q. You talked a little bit about looking at both left tackles. Just given the nature of this game and Georgia's quarterback situation, have you guys looked a little bit at J.T. Daniels as well? Is that something you're going to kind of study his game just in case?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: Of course. Like I said, preparation is everything. We're going to watch everything. You never know what can happen in a game, what scenarios if he gets in. We're going to prepare for everything. Whoever the quarterback is, we have to be prepared. We have to watch both quarterbacks just as we have to watch both tackles.

Q. Georgia is a touchdown favorite in this game. That doesn't happen a lot. I'm sure you've probably never been an underdog since you've been at Alabama. What does that feel like when people, especially people outside Alabama, think you might lose the game?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: I mean, we control only what we control. We try not to worry about external factors, what other people think about us because the only thing we have to think about is what's going on in the locker room and how we can go out there and we can dominate and be the team that's fast and dominate. We have to be on the same page to execute the game plans that coaches give to us.

I think that's the only thing we're worried about in this facility, and I think that's what we're going to be worried about as we head into the game.

Q. Coach Saban said he told you all after the Iron Bowl that you need to remember this game, particularly the way you won the game. Has he said that after a game that you remember before that?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: Of course. He says that all the time because we never want to take winning for granted around here. When he says that, we look at it in a positive light. We know what we did to win that. We all went out there and fought hard, we fought to the end.

When the couple of overtimes came over and we had to go out there, that's when we accepted the challenge, and we went out there and played as a team. Every unit stepped up, and we did what we needed to do.

Q. Given the success Alabama's had against Georgia in the past, does that have any sort of carryover or give you any sort of extra confidence going into this game?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: I wasn't even here for that, and for me honestly, that's in the past. That was last year. That was some years ago. It's 2021 right now, and that's the only thing we can focus on is the 2021 game and how this game can go.

Q. Going back to your days as a recruit, what was it that stood out about Alabama and the reasons you picked them?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: What stood out to Alabama is the group of men that's here and in this facility. In high school I told myself I wanted to be surrounded by people who have the same mentality as me, same expectation, same standard. When you come to a place like Alabama, everyone in the locker room has the same expectation for themselves, the same mentality, and the competitiveness here.

To be at Alabama, you have to be a very good competitor and you have to be able to compete every day even when you don't feel like competing. So it's a different type of mindset when you come here to Alabama. I think that was the biggest thing for me when I was getting recruited. That's why I wanted to come here is because of the mindset and because of the men who were going to be here to help me along the way and help me get to where I want to be at.

Q. I know you treat every game the same, but are you excited at least to be going back to your home state and playing that team in the SEC Championship Game?

WILL ANDERSON JR.: It's always exciting to be back home. My family gets to come see me because, of course, I'm from Georgia. It's always good to come back home. That's why I'm excited about that.