Will Anderson Jr. Officially Declares for the 2023 NFL Draft

Anderson announced that he will be turning pro after playing in his final game last Saturday in the Sugar Bowl.

Joey Blackwell | Jan 2, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — 'The Terminator' has sacked his final college quarterback.

Alabama outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. announced on Monday morning that he will be foregoing his senior season with the Crimson Tide and declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. Anderson, who has already graduated with a degree in communications last December, completed his college career on Saturday in Alabama's 45-20 win over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

When asked what brought him to the decision to head to the NFL after three seasons, Anderson said that is was discussions with Alabama head coach Nick Saban and members of his family.

"I talked to Coach Saban," Anderson said after he made his announcement. "He was real honest with me and he just told me, like, 'These past three years you have been very special for us. You've been doing a really good job, you're a top pick and, you know, to just go out there.' He said I don't need to come back, and I talked to my family of course and we just made that decision trying to move on to the next chapter in my life and begin something new.

"These past three years have been unbelievable, great and very special and I'm very blessed to be in this situation."

Anderson finished his college career second all-time for Alabama in sacks with 34.5, only trailing linebacker Derrick Thomas' 52. He also recorded the third-most sacks in a single season with 17.5 in 2021 — 9.5 behind Thomas' 1988 season total of 27 and 0.5 behind Thomas' 1987 season.

Anderson will also leave Tuscaloosa as one of the most decorated linebackers in Crimson Tide program history. Along with helping Alabama win its 18th national championship in the 2020 season, he also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy not once, but twice in 2021 and 2022. He also won the Lombardi Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lott Trophy, all in 2022.

Anderson is also the only Crimson Tide player in program history to be named a unanimous All-American in two seasons, which he earned in 2021 and 2022. He was named second-team All-SEC in 2020 before making first-team in both of his final two years.

While Anderson said he doesn't know if he'll be the top pick of the draft or have a team preference on where he goes, he did take a moment to thank his family. Without them, he remarked, he wouldn't be where he is today.

"It means everything," Anderson said regarding his mother and father being in attendance during his announcement. "This is one of the biggest — I can't think of the word, but nobody in my family has accomplished anything this big. I just have to give all the love to my family because they was with me since I started this journey since I was five years old and they built me up to the person I am now.

"They helped me get to this place and to be right here — nothing has ever happened like this in my family before — and for me to be the first person in my family to do something like this is very special. They've supported me along the way, they love me and I just have to give a big shout-out to them because without them, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

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