Is Dallas Turner ready to replace Will Anderson for Alabama football?

Will Anderson was one of the most fearsome edge rushers in college football throughout his Alabama career. He finished with 34.5 sacks, 62 tackles for loss and 205 total tackles on his way to winning the Bednarik and Lombardi Awards and being voted a unanimous first-team All-American.

Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Anderson is now in the NFL with the Houston Texans. Nick Saban and company will have to replace him.

Fortunately, they still have Dallas Turner. On Wednesday at SEC Media Days, Turner discussed the lessons he learned from being Anderson’s teammate.

“He prepared me for this moment,” Turner said. “Just seeing him grow and him seeing me grow, you know we’ve both seen each other grow. We’ve seen the ups and downs and I feel like he passed on everything he needed to pass on to me here.”

The Fort Lauderdale native seems ready to meet the moment. Last season he had four sacks opposite Anderson, with 37 total tackles.

He doesn’t lack confidence either. Turner was asked whether he thinks he’s the best defensive player in the SEC.

“I feel like I am,” Turner said without hesitation.

He went on to explain his reasoning.

“Just my motor, my ability to pass rush,” he said. “I can be versatile, I can play multiple positions.”

Across the room in Nashville’s Grand Hyatt hotel, Turner didn’t get any disagreement from one of his top defensive teammates. Defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry was asked about his fellow junior.

McKinstry, a preseason all-SEC talent in his own right, was all in.

“Pass rush is very important to my position because if we don’t get a rush, it’s gonna be very hard on me,” he said. “I love Dallas the most.”

Turner can be a terrifying presence from the outside. He stands six-foot-four, weighs in at 242 pounds and can run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.5 seconds.

He came to Alabama after playing his prep football at Saint Thomas Aquinas. He immediately showed out for the 2021 Crimson Tide, line up opposite Anderson and racking up 8.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

Anderson showed him the way. Now, Turner will have to step up into the same position for Alabama’s younger talent.

“It’s really the same thing, he just passed on everything he needed to pass on to me,” Turner said. “So everything that he did and the way, the path he paved, I’m just going to follow it.”

Later on, Turner said he and the other defensive veterans are ready to impart the UA culture on the team’s current crop of young players. Alabama might not be favored to win the SEC West this year, but the linebacker wasn’t fazed.

“We just hope to lead by example every day,” Turner said. “We got new guys coming in. We just show the new guys how it is supposed to be at the University of Alabama, the type of football we play, the type of attitude we have day in and day out.