Position Week: Ranking Alabama’s top-5 OLBs of Saban era

BamaOnLine is spending the summer months breaking down the various position groups on Alabama’s 2023 roster leading up to the start of fall camp in August. After deep-diving into the Crimson Tide’s offense last month, we have now shifted our focus to the other side of the football, continuing on with the outside linebackers.

To continue OLB week, we rank Alabama’s top five edge players from the Nick Saban era, starting with a ultra-talented guy who hasn’t even wrapped up his college career yet. Let’s begin.

Honorable mention: Anfernee Jennings (2015-19); Terrell Lewis (2016-19); Christian Miller (2014-18)

5. Dallas Turner (2021-current)

Stats: 67 tackles, 18.0 TFL, 12.5 sacks, 2 FR, 1 DTD

Let me start this by saying Turner has a really good chance to climb this list before his career at Alabama comes to an end. Outside of Will Anderson, no other edge has come through Tuscaloosa (since 2007, at least) with Turner’s upside. If he reaches that ceiling, he’s almost certain to be a top-10 pick in the NFL draft next April. The only reason that he’s checking in this low right now is consistency. After posting an impressive 10 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks as a freshman, his numbers dropped to eight and four in Year 2.

With Anderson off to the NFL, Turner is now being asked to step up and be Alabama’s primary pass rusher. Yes, that will lead to more attention from opposing offenses, but it’ll also mean that he’ll have more things being schemed up for him rather than trying to play more of a complementary role to Anderson. And after spending the offseason refining his technique and working to become more of a force against the run, I’m expecting a massive step forward from the former Five-Star-Plus+ recruit.

Some of this ranking is projection, but it’s hard to find many outside linebackers who have come to Alabama and made a bigger impact in his first two seasons (other than the guy ranked No. 1 on this list, of course).

4. Tim Williams (2012-16)

Stats: 58 tackles, 30.5 TFL, 21.0 sacks, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 DTD

Will Anderson is the best pure pass rusher that’s played for Saban at Alabama, but Tim Williams isn’t far off. In fact, Williams averaged a pressure every 5.6 snaps over his final two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. Anderson, on the other hand, averaged a pressure every 10.5 snaps. Granted, most of that is Williams being used more situationally (624 total snaps vs. 1,558 for Anderson), so don’t overthink the stat. It does paint a picture though and properly captures the impact Alabama got from Williams during the 2015-16 seasons.

After totaling only eight tackles and 1.5 sacks over his first three years, he finished with 28.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks. At one time recently, I had him ranked higher than Anderson. Things can change though, and the fact that Williams was more situational was a driving force behind that change. Granted, I ranked Terrence Cody ahead of Marcell Dareus in last week’s rankings despite the fact that Cody was an early-down run-stopper, but he also had the resume (two-time All-American) to back up that argument. Williams somehow didn’t even make All-SEC. Still, he’s easily one of the top-five outside linebackers from the Saban era.

3. Ryan Anderson (2013-16)

Stats: 128 tackles, 40.0 TFL, 19.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 DTD, 6 FF, 6 FR

Want to know how fluid these lists can be? Back in February, Williams barely landed in my top-20 defensive players from the Saban era. Anderson barely missed the cut and was including as one of my honorable mentions. Five months later and Anderson is now ranked ahead of Williams while ranking the top-five outside linebackers. Why? Well, I already touched on it above. I’ve decided that if you’re going to be more of a situational contributor, then you better have the accolades like Cody to land ahead of a more complete player.

Williams doesn’t have that, which is why I’ve since changed my mind.

Ryan was the first Anderson to make an impact at outside linebacker for the Crimson Tide. Of course, we’ve seen another one (who I think we can all agree was even better) come through since Tuscaloosa, but that doesn’t take away from what Ryan did for Alabama’s defense. Unlike Williams, he brought more balance to the position. He was a great complementary pass rusher while also providing quality run defense. It always felt like his most impactful plays came in crucial moments of games, too. Despite being a five-star coming out of high school, I don’t think he had the same upside or tools as others on this list, but he certainly maximized every bit of his talent.

Anderson is one of only three players to finish amongst the top three in sacks for three consecutive seasons. The other two are Jonathan Allen and Will Anderson.

2. Courtney Upshaw (2008-11)

Stats: 140 tackles, 36.5 TFL, 17.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 DTD, 6 FF, 2 FR

Look, I’m not backing down from my top two choices on this list, starting with Upshaw. The former Eufaula (Ala.) product checked in at No. 13 on my list of top-20 defensive players from the Saban era back in February, and I don’t really see him dropping out of my top-15 anytime soon. Sure, his career sack total might turn out to be the lowest on this list by the time Turner wraps up his college career, but Upshaw was so much more than getting after the quarterback.

He was no slouch in that area though. In fact, he was responsible for 16.5 of Alabama’s 57 total sacks between 2010-11, which comes out to 29%. For comparison, Will Anderson was responsible for 27.5 of 95 sacks, which also comes out to exactly 29% of the team’s total over his final two years. No one is going to argue that Upshaw should be considered in the same category, but it does show how important he was to the Crimson Tide’s limited pass rush in those days. Plus, I still consider him to be the best edge-setting outside linebacker to play for Saban at Alabama.

1. Will Anderson Jr. (2020-22)

Stats: 204 tackles, 58.5 TFL, 34.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 DTD, 1 FF

Folks, this isn’t even close.

Anderson is not only the top outside linebacker to play at Alabama during the Saban era, but he’s arguably the top overall defensive player, too. Sure, an argument can be made for Jonathan Allen or Minkah Fitzpatrick, but Anderson is certainly in that conversation. Even in a ”down year” by some people’s standards, the Georgia native still managed 17 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Since 2007, there have only been three years where an outside linebacker has broken double-digit sacks, and Anderson is responsible for two of them, including that 17.5-sack season in 2021.

Yes, he was a phenomenal pass rusher in Tuscaloosa, but he was also a highly-effective run defender. In fact, there hasn’t been a more complete edge donning Crimson since Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas. Plus, Anderson brought a great work ethic and attitude to the table. His leadership was valuable, even if it wasn’t always reflected in Alabama’s on-field performance. And just take a look at all the hardware and accomplishments Anderson brought home over his final two seasons.

National champion (2020)Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2021-22)Chuck Bednarik Award (2022)Lombardi Award (2022)Lott Trophy (2022)SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2021-22)Unanimous All-American (2021-22)First-team All-SEC (2021-22)Second-team All-SEC (2020)Cotton Bowl Classic MVP (2021)

He was also selected No. 3 overall by the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL Draft, trying him for the highest-drafted defensive player of the Saban era with Marcell Dareus and Quinnen Williams. And had it not been for Bryce Young going No. 1, Anderson would be tied with those guys for being the highest-drafted player, regardless of offense or defense. All of that combined makes him an easy choice to rank in this top spot.

5. Dallas Turner (2021-current)

4. Tim Williams (2012-16)

3. Ryan Anderson (2013-16)

2. Courtney Upshaw (2008-11)

1. Will Anderson Jr. (2020-22)

More OLB Position Week articles