Will Anderson Jr. Named Both Bednarik, Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week
Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. was named the Bednarik Player of the Week for his performance last weekend at Mississippi State, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Tuesday morning.
The recognition is Anderson Jr.’s second from the Bednarik, as the sophomore was also selected for the weekly honor following the Ole Miss game.
Later in the afternoon, Anderson was also named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week
This is the eighth time for an Alabama player to earn the Bronko Nagurski Trophy weekly honor and the first since 2018.
Against the Bulldogs, Anderson became the first Alabama defender since 1988 to record four sacks in a game and just the third player in school history to tally four-plus sacks in a single contest, joining Derrick Thomas and Leroy Cook.
He notched six total tackles and a pass breakup to go with his four sacks.
The four tackles for a loss moved him into the national lead in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 15 (-72 yards) for the season.
Anderson Jr. was also selected as the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week. The conference honor was his third of the season and Alabama's seventh as a team.
Although Anderson helped keep Mississippi State out of the end zone during the 49-9 win, as the Crimson Tide held the Bulldogs to 18.8 points below their season average and 72 yards below their passing offense average entering the game, it's his leadership that teammates have been talking about most recently.
“I’ve seen him take a big step, I would say, since the offseason," Safety Malachi Moore said. "Will always comes to work every day, and he’s one of those players that when he says it, everybody listens just because of how hard he works. He goes hard every day in practice no matter what we’re doing, and he’s always just trying to keep everybody accountable and to keep the main thing and our goals the same.”
Purdue wide receiver David Bell won Maxwell Football Club's offensive award. The junior from Indianapolis dissected No. 2 Iowa for 240 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches, while helping lead the Boilermakers to a stunning 24-7 upset victory.
