Will Anderson looked relaxed at the podium Thursday afternoon.

While some players shy away from interviews, the Alabama linebacker is in his element. And given his obvious yet unspoken plans for the future, Anderson spoke freely when asked about a funny memory he had with Nick Saban.

“He called me soft a few times,” Anderson said with a grin.

Oh yeah?

Anderson remembered a specific moment from this past offseason during the Fourth Quarter conditioning drills. Coming off an ankle injury from the Cotton Bowl semifinal, Anderson said he tweaked it again during the drills.

“And they held me until almost the end of the Fourth Quarter,” Anderson said Thursday. “When I finally got back out there, he was like ‘You’ve been over there kissing up under (head athletics trainer) Jeff Allen this whole time. You’re so soft. This is the longest injury I’ve ever seen.’ He just started laughing. It was pretty funny.

“But I got him back the other day, so it’s OK.”

Oh yeah, again?

This came earlier in the week, Anderson explained, when Alabama arrived in New Orleans to practice for the 11 a.m. CT Saturday Cotton Bowl against Kansas State. They practiced in helmets and shoulder pads instead of the full pads.

“So I walked out and I screamed ‘Whose idea was it to practice in shells today. They’re soft!’” Anderson said before the comedic pay off. “And I looked at him and I just started laughing and he just started laughing.”

Anderson said Saban tried to play it off as a player leadership group decision.

“And we didn’t even talk about it,” Anderson said, smiling. “I was like, ‘No, that’s you’re idea.’”

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