Will Anderson Jr, Houston Texans Linebacker

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Well, thanks so much for coming on. So I got to start you off with two weeks ago. You guys lose a tough one to the Jaguars. You guys then go up against the Broncos, who have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and you put an end to their five game win streak.

Just what does it say about your team's toughness to be able to store away a loss and then bounce back with a nice performance against the Broncos? Yeah, I think it's just the hunger the team have. Like, we know that we can accomplish something really special this year.

You know, if we're all locked in, we're all doing our job. And I think that everybody's been seeing, like, we can really win games. We have a really good football team. So, like, we can bounce back from anything. And, you know, I think the type of team we just have is a really, like, just a starving team. We're just starving for greatness. And I think we just want more of that. So, you know, we bounce back from that.

Go win this one, and we just want to keep this thing rolling. How about your performance this past Sunday, individually? I know you're a team guy being a captain. You've always been a team guy.

But to get two sacks and also get a hand on that football to deflect that punt, that was a pretty impressive performance. Yeah, man, I would just say it's all God, man. Like, it's just staying down, staying true to who you are.

You know what I'm saying? Not listening to the outside noise, but also have to give a big shout out to, you know, the D-line room and the coaches that's in there and everybody like that. Man, those guys, you know, do a really good job of working with me. And I think that's been the main thing this year, just beginning to learn from a great group of guys, like Rank and Jerry Hughes, JG, and then we added DB to the room, and then Kerry, he would send friends. So, I've just been trying to connect with those guys, and they've been doing a really good job. I was taking me under their wing and teaching me the rope, so I just have to give a really big credit to those guys. We all know that expectations have always been high on you, and you've always been under the spotlight to be able to make this transition seem so easy to the NFL.

You know, I wonder, is there a next level to Will Anderson Jr.? Like, how comfortable are you so far with the transition? How much more growth do you think you still have? Oh, it's never been satisfied with anything. It's always room for improvement.

It's always a big deal. I think it's always room for improvement and always room for growth. I feel like now at this next level, I feel like I have even reached where I can really go with my game.

You know what I'm saying? And that's what excites me the most. That's like I said, just learning from everything. It's just so much stuff I've learned so far from all these guys that I didn't even know in college or I didn't even know coming to the league, man. And it's just beautiful to see. It's getting me fired up right now, man, just thinking about some of the things. So, I'm excited.

You know what I'm saying? But right now, I'm just focused on the team right now and what we have to do to go out there and accomplish what we have to do. Talking to Will Anderson Jr. right now on the Zach Gelb show, I remember on draft night, and let me preface it by saying, you're my favorite player in the country defensively heading into the draft. And the Texans move up to get you after taking C.J.

Stroud. And I was surprised by some of the pushback. People are like, oh, the Texans are going to be no good.

They give away their first round picks for next year to the Arizona Cardinals. Did you hear a lot of that criticism and to prove a lot of doubters wrong, not only individually, but also as a team? What does that mean to you? Yeah, I learned my lesson in college early and often to stay away from all of that stuff and know where your faith is and everything like that and knowing that God makes no mistakes and that everything is going to work out.

So I learned that lesson way in college. So when I got here, man, and Coach Ryan's, he did a phenomenal job with me and C.J. when we first got here. Of course, it's expectation, but he was like, we're not coming in here asking y'all to be Superman or anything like that. We brung y'all in here for the type of man that you are, the type of players that y'all are. Y'all are great men. Just be yourself.

You don't have to go out there and try to do anything extra, anything like that. And I feel like when he told us that me and C.J. just like it was like a burden kind of lifted off our shoulders that we can just really be ourselves and just being ourselves worked out. You know, the guys in locker room were amazing. The team is amazing. The staff is amazing.

So it's beautiful to see men. We're all in for the team, honestly. And this team, I couldn't be more proud of them. And I know you got a good mix of veterans, but you got a lot of youngsters that are playing well. Stingley had the two picks.

You had the two sack performance. You know what C.J. is doing, unfortunate injury with Tank Dell, but he was off to a monster start this year in year number one. Just what is that like when you have an organization that's trying to turn around what they've been and you got a lot of hungry guys, younger guys working together? Yeah, it's exciting to see. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing to see, man, and to be a part of it.

It's just a blessing, man. All those guys that you name and the other guys that we do have on the team that's been balling out too, man. It just shows, you know, what type of team we have. We have a team full of ballers. We have a team full of playmakers. And everybody's been locked in and bought into the system, which is the offensive system, defensive system, but ultimately just a Texas way. And, you know, coach always talks about just doing us better. And I think we've been doing a really good job of just doing us better. You're the name on the defense, Will Anderson Jr. We know the name on the offense of the entire organization is the quarterback in C.J.

Stroud. What you've seen out of him so far, how do you just describe what he's doing as he's taking the league by storm? I don't even know if it's a word to describe the amazing things that C.J.

is doing. Like, coach had showed a highlight of him yesterday. He had like a back shoulder throw.

I want to say to Nico, I want to say, or it was Nico or Brevin. And I know for like, it was crazy thing to see. I've never seen nothing like it, but like to be so different at this stage where he's at right now is just like unbelievable, man. And then just the man that C.J. is, man, he's just a great high character guy. You know, everybody loves him in the building.

Great personality, always cracking jokes, always being himself. And I think that's what makes him so special. He's just, he's just C.J. He doesn't try to be anybody else.

It's not a facade. We get the same exact C.J. every single day. And I think that's what makes C.J.

so special. I know you're an Alabama guy, so you portray one game at a time, not even one day at a time, like one second at a time. But going back to this summer, when you guys were forming together and you started to see what this team could look like with D'Amico Ryans, the new kind of jolt of energy with you and C.J., a lot of people are surprised you guys are seven and five. What type of team did you guys think you had in the summer?

What did you think you could accomplish? Honestly, for me, I knew we were going to be way better than they were last year. I was like Coach Ryans just came from San Fran, had, I think, the number one defense. And I love the system.

I love the scheme that he has. I was like, we have ballers over here that I know for a fact can fit into that system. So like when we got a chance to really get that thing going and practice it and go against each other in practice and then slow came with the offense and everything like that. We just see how competitive it was.

We was all like, oh, yeah, we really got a chance to be a really great team. Unfortunate injury last night with Trevor Lawrence. He has a ankle sprain.

We'll see how many weeks he's going to miss. The Colts have been a really good story as well. And there are you guys, one of the best stories in league at seven and five. Why is this group ready now to go win a division? Because that talk's going to pick up this week as it's attainable for you guys to win the AFC South the rest of the way. We can't worry about that, man. We just got to worry about the Jets. We got to worry about the schedule that we got. We got to worry about how we can just keep improving every week and getting better every week and not focus on any of the noise. And I think that's what this team does a really good job of that. Everybody does a really good job of just focus on the week ahead, a week ahead, the practice ahead, the preparation ahead, leading up into the rest of the season. I have to ask you about your college team.

They've been in a lot of the news. Get into college football playoff. You know Saban very well, Anderson Junior. You tell me, what do you think Nick Saban's like behind the scenes this year? Because after they lost to Texas, the Alabama dynasty's done.

It's dead. This team's not going back to the college football playoff. And here we are.

They're SEC champions beat in Georgia and now they're one of the four teams remaining. Yeah, I just say this type of coach he is. Like he's very competitive and he likes challenges. And that's what keeps him going.

I remember walking with him my last year and really just getting a lot of wisdom from him. And that's one of the things he told him. I said, Coach, how do you been doing this for so long? He said, I love the challenge of it. Every year is going to be a different challenge. And how can I go like take advantage of that challenge? And I think just like this, you're like, oh, they lost to Texas.

That's a challenge. Let's see how the rest of the season will go. So I think he did a really good job with the hires he had. The players, you know, they're listening to him and everything like that. And I just call it the Saban effect. Like everybody's locked into what he has to say. And, you know, they're going to do what he's going to say or else they're going to get out.

Did they take the antenna out? Just wondering of your brain? Because I'm convinced ever since seeing Quinnen Williams freeze up when he's about to take a shot at Kyler Murray, all those years ago, that Saban kind of has an antenna in your guy's brains a little bit. Right when you're about to say something controversial. Before we let you run, Will Anderson Jr., how do you compare your coach now, D'Amico Ryans, to one of the best ever do it in Nick Saban?

Do you see any similarities between the two? Very, very. They're both competitive. Love the game of football.

Very passionate about it. I would just say, like, of course, Coach Ryans is just he's played in the league. He knows how it is. So he's more youthful, too. So he has a little bit like more energy and everything like that. And like he can like really get the room going for her because of the energy that he has and the passion that he has for the game and everything like that. But I just say as far as mindset and as far as mentality, like practice and everything like that, like the exact same.

So that's how I would say that they have a lot of similarities. You know what it's like to be the team that everyone is hunting. When you go into a game this week against the Jets, everyone's going to be praising you guys. No one's going to be talking about the Jets because their offense is in a really bad spot right now. How do you guys stay focused and not overlook an opponent this week?

Because we just have to worry about what we have to do and worry about going out there, executing and doing our jobs to the best of our ability. Again, not listening to any of the noise, not listening to the rat poison, as Coach Saban would say, and just focus on us and doing us better. Last thing I'll ask you before we let you run while Anderson Junior, I just want to ask one question about your college teammate in Bryce Young.

You guys are so synonymous for so many years. People are now wondering how Bryce is going to be as a pro quarterback. It has not gone well in a tough situation in Carolina. Just what do you say to people that are doubting Bryce Young as a QB? Man, I love Bryce to death, man. Bryce is going to be OK. You know, Bryce have all the tools and ability to be a great quarterback in this league. Awesome guy. And once, you know, they get everything situated over there, Bryce is going to flourish.

You know what I'm saying? Like, Bryce is going to do his thing. I know the guys over there respect him a lot. He's a great captain, a great leader and everything like that.

Loves the game of football, very competitive. So I would say it just takes time to give it time. Let him get the right, you know, people over there for him. He's going to ball out, man. He's just going to continue to be who he is, to be Bryce Young.

So Bryce is going to be OK. Well, things are fun right now in H-Town. Really do appreciate you taking a few minutes today out of your schedule, Will Anderson Jr. Thanks for doing this. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you.