One of the favorite stories Nick Saban loves to tell features Julio Jones visiting an Alabama practice long after entering the NFL and telling a then-current player, “That ain’t the way we do it here.”

Saban uses the story as an example of how his players through 16 seasons have created a standard of excellence that they want future teams to uphold.

Not surprisingly, Will Anderson is eager to continue the tradition.

“I’ll be holding them accountable,” the outside linebacker said two days before the Sugar Bowl last month. “Trust me.”

In fact, Anderson — who declared for the 2023 NFL draft last week — already began the transition of leadership in the locker room as he prepared to play in his final game.

“I told [the defense], I was like, ‘Look, if I’m not here next year, I’m gonna make sure right now, I’m holding y’all accountable,’” he said during a wide-ranging interview session Dec. 29 in New Orleans. “So Dallas Turner, Jaheim Oatis, Deontae Lawson — all those guys. I’ll be on them hard.”

Turner has started for most of the past two seasons at outside linebacker. Oatis, a freshman defensive lineman, and Lawson, a redshirt freshman inside linebacker, both saw significant playing time in 2022 and could become full-time starters in 2023 as Alabama loses several seniors to the NFL draft.

“If something out of the ordinary is not happening, I’ll look at them and I’ll be like, ‘I’m not gonna say nothing.’ I’ll let them handle it,” Anderson said. “If I see something wrong … I’ll say, ‘you’re not gonna say nothing? You’re just gonna let that slide?’ And they said something. I think that’s how it starts. I think that’s how you start getting guys to get uncomfortable.

“Everybody wants to be comfortable. So if you want to be a good leader — those guys are gonna be the guys next year. People are gonna look at them for what they’re doing.”

Anderson, a two-time team captain and the program’s only two-time unanimous All-American, decided to play in the Sugar Bowl despite rock-solid projections as a top-5 pick in the upcoming draft. He used the extra practice time — a week in Tuscaloosa followed by a week in New Orleans — to nudge his younger teammates into more vocal roles.

“It’s easy with this bowl practice going on — all the many practices we’ve got going on, everything that’s going on — that’s how you guys to start getting uncomfortable, helping to lead the team, and helping get the standard and make sure that the standard is going on,” he said. “I embarrassed them. … Dallas Turner, like, ‘You’re not gonna say nothing?’ And I said it real loud in the meeting room. Deontae Lawson, ‘You’re not gonna say nothing?’ Even if it’s sometimes just for laughs, too. Just to embarrass them a little bit. ‘Yeah, this gonna be you next year. Y’all see my struggles?’ Just to mess with them a little bit.

“It’s always about having fun doing it. Not doing it in a rough way, but in a fun way, but to get them to come on, like, ‘Hey, this is how we keep the standard going.’ Y’all are gonna be here next year.”

Alabama faced questions after its second loss of the season to LSU in November whether current players were living up to the standard set by former players during championship seasons. Former quarterback Greg McElroy shared extensive thoughts on his ESPN podcast and was joined by former running back Bo Scarbrough, wide receiver Marquis Maze and others on social media.

Saban later said it “hurts his heart” when former players say that, and added, “we’re working on it” in terms of recreating the past culture. But after Alabama won its final three regular-season games, Saban struck a more defensive tone after the Iron Bowl.

“I think when people are negative and critical, it makes people have questions about the culture of the program,” Saban said Nov. 26. “The culture of the program is just as good as it’s always been. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the culture here.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.