This didn’t come without warning.

Back in the spring, Will Anderson put quarterbacks on notice — not quite as straightforward as Ed Orgeron’s 2017 “We comin’” — but effectively that.

“I think you guys talk about the 2016 defense pass rush,” Anderson said after the A-Day Game in April. “I feel like you guys are definitely getting ready to see that again.”

The All-American left more breadcrumbs in August when asked about the possibility of a three-outside-linebacker formation including Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell.

“It would be very lethal, very scary, violent guys,” he said early in preseason camp. “I’m not gonna go into too much depth, but when the season comes, you guys will see.”

Haynes King can testify to all of the above.

The Texas A&M quarterback left Bryant-Denny Stadium with a stained white jersey as Williams and Co., were less-than-hospitable hosts. The 24-20 Alabama win was the full realization of Nick Saban’s talking point that separates raw sack numbers from the more abstract “affecting the passer” concept.

On top of the three sacks, Alabama pass rushers recorded quarterback hurries on 13 other snaps with Anderson accounting for eight.

“So it worked well for us,” Saban said Monday. “It was effective.”

King was 25-for-33 for 253 yards and two touchdowns on the other passing situations.

Of the 13 passes thrown on while being hurried, 12 fell incomplete and one was intercepted. Braswell was in King’s face, rushing a second-quarter throw that Terrion Arnold intercepted.

Alabama had the three outside linebackers on the field for that third-down play but wasn’t in the look that unleashes a three-man race to the quarterback. The formations can vary but one second-quarter sack included just one lineman with a hand in the dirt flanked by Anderson and Braswell to his left and Turner on the right.

Turner recorded one of his two sacks on the snap that never stood a chance of offensive success. Middle linebacker Henry To’o To’o was also on the field for that play.

“Man, it’s fun for me,” To’o To’o said Monday. “I just do my job and let them go do their thing. We’ve got our cheetah package when they’re in there. I just let them play, go get a sack, and then they help us in the back end too. So if we’re covering, we know we’re not going to be covering for long because they’re going to get back there. So definitely a huge part of our defense.”

All three sacks came on third-down plays while six of the QB hurries came on third- or fourth-down plays. That’s a big reason Alabama’s third-down defense ranks No. 2 nationally as opponents have just a 22.6% success rate.

That leads Alabama into its biggest game of the season against an offense that operates quite differently from the previous six. No. 6 Tennessee brings a fast-paced look that would make Hugh Freeze of the mid-2010s blush.

Vol quarterback Hendon Hooker was sacked three times, but Alabama didn’t record any additional QB hurries in last year’s 52-24 Crimson Tide win. He had touchdown throws of 57 and 70 yards as the big-play threat cut Alabama’s lead to seven early in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee’s pass protection has allowed 8.0 sacks (34the fewest nationally) while recording the 35th-most 20-yard plays with 33. LSU didn’t record a single sack in the 40-13 Tennessee blowout Saturday in Baton Rouge.

The Vols are also 13-for-25 on third downs in the last two wins over Florida and LSU for a 52% success rate so this sets up for a battle of strengths.

Alabama offensive tackle Tyler Steen knows a little about having to combat the cheetah package Vol linemen will face Saturday.

“It’s really tough because there’s a lot of things you can do with the cheetah package,” Steen said. “I feel like we’ve seen a lot of it — a lot of what they do and stuff like that — a lot of possibilities. You’ve just got to make — when you’re in practice — you’ve gotta make sure that you maintain your roles, make sure that you’re communicating with the guy next to you and stuff like that. It’s tough to stop, so it’s a good package.”

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.