Column: Why Alabama star Will Anderson could be the perfect fit for Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears defense

INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps it’s Clifford Fedd, the varsity football coach of the Dutchtown High School Bulldogs in Hampton, Ga., who deserves credit for striking the match.

Will Anderson was a sophomore in 2017, struggling through a weight-room session when Fedd lit into him and banished him to the end rack.

In the moment, it felt like crap. Tears welled in Anderson’s eyes. He felt discouraged, a bit defeated. But 5½ years later, after an impressive climb that has him in line potentially to be the top pick in this year’s NFL draft, he reflects on that incident with fondness.

“After that,” Anderson said Wednesday morning, “my whole mentality, my whole mindset, my passion for the game changed. I started loving it. I started embracing that challenge. I started embracing him getting on me.”

The match that Fedd lit started a fire. And the fire inside Anderson has burned hot since.

“It got to the point when it was winter break or spring break and I’d be like, ‘Coach, I want extra work. Come on. I don’t want to be doing what everybody else is doing. Can you meet me up at the high school?’

“I was challenging him at practice like, ‘We going to let practice go by like that? No pads today?’ That’s when I started embracing the game and loving the game and having passion for it.”

Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears own the No. 1 pick and have been trumpeting their messages through the halls and meeting rooms of the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Under the guidance of general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears are looking to revitalize their roster with players who don’t just play the game but love it. With obvious passion. Players like Anderson.

The Bears also need pass-rush help and lots of it after finishing last in the NFL last season with 20 sacks. Rookie safety Jaquan Brisker led the team with four.

Anderson could help there immediately, too, a highly touted athlete off the edge who had 34½ sacks during his three-year career at Alabama. In both 2021 and 2022, he won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player. NFL talent evaluators drool over his dynamic first step, long arms and competitive motor.

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Sure, Anderson will need to continue working on his flexibility and mobility and must prove he has enough size, strength and explosion to be elite at the highest level of the game. But in this draft class, he may be the most complete prospect there is, especially after Tuesday’s developments with Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who has a warrant out for his arrest in connection to his potential involvement in a fatal car accident in January.

Eberflus was asked Tuesday to describe the perfect defensive lineman for his system. “Big, long and fast,” he said.

Make a note. Eberflus also detailed the traits in pass rushers that catch his eye most.

“When guys start to rush and they get their approach, when they get to the move area, the ones who can’t get there start working away from the quarterback,” Eberflus said. “The ones who do, they have everything pointed — their hips, their toes, their knees — toward the quarterback.

“Then they have the ability to work their move around the edge. And when they get past the quarterback, they have strength to be able to work back inside. Those are the things we look at.”

Later Tuesday evening, Anderson sat down with Bears representatives and enjoyed the engagement. A little conversation. Some film breakdown.

There were plenty of direct questions about his process as an edge defender.

“What were you doing on this play?” Anderson said. “Where were your eyes? What were you keying on? What was your responsibility? Things of that nature. Just to see if you know ball.”

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As of Wednesday morning, the Bears were one of seven teams Anderson had visited with at the combine. He had additional opportunities to impress talent evaluators when he went through athletic testing and positional drills Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

There’s a lot to like, obviously. And if the Bears are intent on uniting with players who fit Eberflus’ effort-based culture, it won’t hurt that Anderson is coming out of a Crimson Tide program that went 37-4 during his three seasons with two appearances in the College Football Playoff championship game and one national title.

Playing for Nick Saban will instill a thing or two about standards and drive.

“Every day is a business day. No days off,” Anderson said. “When you walk through that door, you know today is going to be a business day. Practice is going to get you prepared. And practice is always going to be harder than the game.”

Anderson also credits Saban for boosting his confidence the past three seasons.

“He trusted in me,” Anderson said. “He believed in me. He said, ‘Will, you can go out there and do it.’ And that just made me go out and do things 10 times harder. Because I had one of the world’s greatest coaches telling me, ‘I trust in you. I believe in you to do this.’”

Pretty soon, one NFL team will make a draft-night investment in Anderson and he’ll push himself to make the next big leap. Whether the Bears keep the No. 1 pick or trade down and stay inside the top five, they will have Anderson on their radar.

With every scout, GM and coach he has talked to, Anderson has emphasized his versatility and work ethic. On Wednesday morning, he also expressed pride in his consistency and humility.

“Whatever culture I’m in, I’m going to do things the right way,” he said. “I think that’s what sets me apart.”

He also wants teams to know about that fire, the one that was lit in that high school weight room. Anderson tapped on his chest.

“It’s about what you have in here,” he said. “That’s what has carried me to this point in my life, just always knowing that whatever I have going on, my mentality and my mindset is not going to change.”