Will Anderson Jr. could do something on Sunday that he never got to do during his three seasons at Alabama.

“I get a chance to hit Bryce Young,” Anderson said.

After three seasons as teammates with the Crimson Tide, Anderson and Young are NFL rookies. Young is the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers. Anderson is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. Their teams square off on Sunday.

“It’s going to be really fun,” Anderson told Aaron Wilson of KRPC-TV in the Texans’ locker room. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us. He does a lot of great things in the pocket. We just got to be really good at assaulting the pocket, condensing everything down, keeping him in the pocket. But a phenomenal player. It was great playing with him. Very excited to play against him. …

“Me and Bryce go way back. We started school together, so it’s going to be fun.”

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At Alabama, Anderson won the Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s defensive player of the year twice and Young won the 2021 Heisman Trophy.

“That’s also someone that I’m super close with, someone I consider a brother,” Young said. “We came into Alabama the same time and we both grew there, both grew together. Someone I have an extreme amount of respect for, just how he carries himself.”

Young also has known Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud for years and played at Alabama with Texans wide receiver John Metchie Jr. and linebackers Christian Harris and Henry To’oTo’o.

“There’s a lot of people on that team I’m really close with — a lot of people from Alabama, people I know outside of that,” Young said. “It’s just cool to see people you know being able to play at the highest level, have success. I’m super happy for them.”

Young joined the Panthers as the first pick in the NFL Draft on April 27. The Texans picked Stroud from Ohio State at No. 2, then swung a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to get the third pick to use on Anderson.

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Sunday’s game will be the first during the NFL’s common-draft era (since 1967) to feature the top three draft selections as rookies.

While Anderson has generated pressure in Houston’s pass rush with eight quarterback hits, if he sacks Young on Sunday, it will be the second of his NFL career.

“I’m not really worried about sacks,” Anderson said. “I’m just worried about doing my job, doing what the coaches ask me to do. Whatever they ask me to do, I just want to go out there and do it to the best of my ability. …

“It’s just about loving the process and loving the grind. You got to love the process. Don’t worry about the result. Once you do that, everything else will come into place. The coaches have been pushing us really hard. We’ve been pushing each other as a group just to keep rushing and rush together and rush as one so we can all eat and have fun.”

The Texans and Panthers will square off at noon CDT Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Houston has a 3-3 record, already equaling its win total from last season. Carolina is the NFL’s only winless team at 0-6.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.