A Song of Ice and Fire: Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr.
Heading into the 2022 college football season, Alabama football is having to put a season behind itself that ended with the Crimson Tide losing a national championship.
Throughout head coach Nick Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa, the circumstance of starting a season after a loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game has only happened on three occasions. Of the two title game losses that happened prior to 2022, Alabama followed up the previous season with a national championship — defeating Georgia in 2018 after losing the Clemson the year prior.
For the past decade and a half, no team in college football has had more success than the Crimson Tide. The dominance has been so resolute that there are few that would oppose that fact. In college football's game of thrones, Alabama has held the seat of power more than anyone else.
And in 2022, the Crimson Tide is looking to take back its throne.
When looking at its leadership, Alabama's core leaders quite accurately reflect the dynamic of fire and ice. On its offense, quarterback Bryce Young leads a balance attack that is just as capable of running over opponents as it is at throwing over their heads. On defense, outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. is the heart and soul of a tenacious defense that looks to right the wrongs it committed last year.
In terms of each player's leadership style, though, that's where the song of ice and fire comes into play.
Both Young and Anderson are the leaders of their respective side of the football. For Young, he exhibits a calm, collected persona on the gridiron. Throughout his first season as a starting quarterback last year, few were more cool than Young — even when he was under considerable pressure.
Last year's Iron Bowl is a prime example. While Alabama fans at home might have been running out of fingernails to chew off of their fingertips as their team trailed 10-3 heading into the final drive of regulation, Young calmly executed a 97-yard drive that tied the game with just seconds left to go, giving the Crimson Tide the juice it needed to ultimately win the game in four overtimes.
Anderson, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. While quite jovial in press conferences and in interviews, Anderson is the definition of intensity when on the field. His fiery demeanor and spirited nature surge him forward, motivating both himself and his teammates.
Ice. Fire. While both can work against each other, Young and Anderson use it to both of their units' advantage.
This past week, both players were asked about their differences and similarities and how each complements the other. When Young gave his response, he noted how he and Anderson round each other out.
"On the field a lot of times — the positions we play and how we both are — I think there is some kind of contrast that leads us to round each other out," Young said. "We definitely feed off each other in practice."
With Anderson in the room waiting for his term at the podium, Young wasted no time in poking fun at his teammate.
"On the field he thinks he sacks me, but he’s wrong 95 percent of the time," Young said. "I give him some. It’s good for his self esteem. We go back and forth. We feed off each other. Off the field I’d like to think we’re pretty similar as far as that fiery, crazy, competitive guy that Will is on the field. He has a different side of him.
"On the field I feel like we feed off each other and balance each other for the team and off the field I think we have more similarities than differences."
While the humor poked at Anderson by Young perfectly exhibits their dynamic, the bigger point made is that while both players can be similar off the field, their on-the-field personas are quite different. However, both are equally effective in their own unique ways.
As a starting quarterback, Young's cold-as-ice nature is a big asset to his game. While energetic, fiery quarterbacks might be more entertaining to watch from a fan's perspective, Young's calm collectiveness allows him to move on from difficulties and shake off bad plays — a skill that is invaluable to any young quarterback.
For Anderson, on the other hand, white-hot passion is key. It's hard to find a time when Anderson isn't the most spirited player on the field, and his energy fuels every player around him. While Young mostly remains quiet, Anderson is the epitome of loud, angry ferocity — no doubt playing into the minds of any offenses that oppose him.
Before Anderson gave his thoughts on their ice-and-fire dynamic, he was sure to set the record straight regarding his sacks of Young during practice.
“The thing about Bryce is he doesn’t like to be sacked, and we are constantly in space sometimes," Anderson grinned. "He likes to think you’re not. He’ll complete a pass but the whistle will have already been blown. Like in his mind, that’s not a sack but that’s where that comes from.”
He proceeded to break down their leadership styles.
“Me on the field, I’m really riled up," Anderson said. "Bryce is, like, real mellow. He has a different style on the field. [...] Sometimes you need that. You need that calm, relaxed — because in some moments in the game, it may not always be needed to be fired up and things like that. So sometimes when I watch Bryce, he’s calm and collected, I say ‘Oh, Bryce has the ability to stay calm and collected, I can do that same thing.’
"I feed off my teammates a lot more than people really know. Like last year, [Phidarian Mathis] used to be right next to me — 'My boy Phil out there with me. Like, I'm good.' That’s how I look at it."
Young and Anderson quite perfectly exemplify the dynamic of ice and fire. While both players were unable to maintain Alabama's throne in 2021, the 2022 season shows much promise and the Crimson Tide appears to be more than capable of taking its rightful place back on top.
For those of you familiar with Game of Thrones, you might be wondering why a quote from Robert Baratheon sits atop this story. Sure, it relates to the paragraphs that follow it, but Baratheon was a king that got complacent, with his death triggering the 'Game of Thrones' in the first place.
Alabama certainly isn't Baratheon, but any team that sits on the throne in the Crimson Tide's absence certainly can be — and his quote is as accurate as they come. Any eye turned to Tuscaloosa can see that a storm is brewing, and Alabama is gearing up for a war to take back what is rightfully theirs.
And at the center of that storm is Young and Anderson, two key leaders that, while they might have opposite styles of play, both have aspirations to lead their team back to the college football throne. It's a story of calm and spirit; a song of ice and fire.
