Texans rookie Will Anderson Jr. eager to get after friend, Alabama teammate Sunday: ‘I get a chance to hit Bryce Young’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Will Anderson Jr. chased after Bryce Young for years on the Alabama practice field, no matter how excellent a pass rushing move he used, it was usually a frustrating outcome.

The Texans’ dynamic rookie defensive end would have to pull up his charge at the last moment, of course, not hit his friend, the Carolina Panthers’ rookie quarterback with the Heisman Trophy winner and future top overall pick of the draft off-limits for contact in practice.

It will be a different situation altogether Sunday at Bank of America Stadium when Anderson, the third overall pick of the first round, is attacking Young in the pocket.

“That’s all that’s been going through my mind is ‘I get a chance to hit Bryce Young,” Anderson told KPRC 2. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us. Me and Bryce go way back. We started school together, so it’s going to be fun.”

A former Bronko Nagurski award winner as the nation’s top defensive player and a two-time Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Anderson laughed when asked about his long friendship with Young and how that impacts this game.

“Not this week, though,” Anderson said.

Elusive and small at 5-foot-10, 204 pounds, Young plays the game with outstanding presence and is active behind center and at sidestepping defenders.

Anderson provides a relentless presence. Although he has only one sack, he has eight quarterback hits and has been close to multiple sacks.

“It’s going to be really fun and a great challenge for us,” Anderson said. “He does a lot of great things in the pocket and we have to be really good at assaulting and condensing everything down and keeping him in the pocket. He’s a phenomenal player and I’m very excited to play against him.”

Although he’s 0-5 as a starter for the winless Panthers, Young has been improving in recent weeks. He has passed for 967 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s been sacked 16 times.

“What we’ve seen on tape is what I’ve seen all along,” Anderson said. “Playing with him and knowing how he operates in the pocket, the coaches now see the type of quarterback he is

Anderson has 24 tackles in six starts with two tackles for losses and 10 pressures while appearing in 68 percent of the Texans’ defensive snaps..

The Texans have a 59 percent pass rush win rate to rank third in the NFL, according to analytics. They blitz just 15 percent of the time. They have just nine sacks, though, as a defense, led by defensive end Jonathan Greenard’s 3 1/2 sacks. Only the Chicago Bears have a lower average sacks per game than the Texans’ 1.5 average.

The Texans have 31 quarterback hits overall, including eight by Anderson, seven by Greenard and seven by defensive tackle Maliek Collins.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, the defensive signal caller, expressed confidence that the sacks are going to increase.

“We have to execute better,” Ryans said. “When it comes to the defensive line, we have to talk about four guys rushing as one. We just have to continue to rush together and make sure we’re executing our plan and doing exactly the things we practiced, doing that on gameday. It’s just about guys doing the little things and being on it.

“Rushing together and not feeling like they’re out there by themselves and nobody pressing to try and make a play. Everybody is just doing what they are supposed to do, playing together and the sacks will come.”

From Anderson’s standpoint, it’s about staying the course and keep playing aggressively and under control.

“It’s about loving the process and loving the grind,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to love the process and not worry about the result. Once you do that, everything else will fall into place. The coaches have been pushing us really harda nd we’ve been pushing together as a group to rush as one.

“I’m not really worried about sacks. I’m worried about doing my job and doing what the coaches ask me to do and doing it to the best of my abilities.”

A former, Chuck Bednarik, Lott trophy winner and national champion at Alabama as one of the most highly recognized defensive players in Crimson Tide history, Anderson has galvanized the defense with his relentless style.

Anderson Jr. plays the game with a dynamic style, chasing down quarterbacks and running backs with skill and determination.

Anderson has a rare combination of speed, strength and a full repertoire of pass rushing moves. He has a toolbox of strategies for every block thrown his way and a plan to win.

He’s a craftsman who believes strongly in pass rushing as a form of art.

“They sleep on my power,” Anderson said. “They see me and say ‘Oh, he’s probably just a speed guy’ and then ‘Boom,’ I hit them with power to counter. It’s good having that speed and power because a lot of people wouldn’t think my body type would have that.

“My first step, my lunge, is one of the biggest things my coaches talk about. Just having that first step and getting my footwork right, one, two, down, close. I just want to be precise with my details.”

At Alabama, Anderson piled up 204 career tackles, 58 1/2 tackles for losses, 34 1/2 sacks and one interception.

He’s eyeing a similar success track in the NFL. How does he reach that goal? It’s simple: by perfecting his craft.

“The coaches really emphasize hand placement,” Anderson said. “Just making sure your hands are right on the breastplate of the tackle, but not putting your hands too high where he can get underneath you. Those are things you watch on film and when you come back you get better.”

The Texans landed their highest-graded pass rusher and overall prospect regardless of position in the draft in Anderson.

The Texans, after drafting Stroud second overall, traded with the Cardinals to draft Anderson third overall. The Texans exchanged 12th overall and 33rd overall selections, their own 2024 first-round and third-round picks, and the Cardinals also sent their 105th overall pick.

And Anderson, signed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $35.212 million contract that includes a fifth-year club option and a $22.609 million signing bonus, is giving the Texans zero regrets about their hefty investment. He’s been as advertised.

“One thing about Will, he’s been the same guy who we thought we were getting when we drafted him, right?” Ryans said. “He’s been on it every single day. When it comes to just the effort, the tenacity that he plays with, the energy, everything about him, he’s been that and more.

“Will has gotten better each and every day. He takes coaching really well. Will has done a great job of absorbing coaching and being able to take it to the field and apply it. It’s been cool to watch.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com