The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Will Anderson Jr. Interview, Opt-out Debate & Transfer Portal Thoughts

Episode Date: January 7, 2022

Joel Klatt shares his thoughts on bowl season, the transfer portal, and top NFL draft prospects opting out of bowl games. Then, Joel talks with Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr. about his incredible season and how he and his team are getting ready for the National Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up everybody? Welcome into Breaking the Huddle. I'm Joel Kla. This is a very special edition. We're going to talk about the national championship game coming up. We've got Will Anderson joining us live. He'll be on the program, a great outside linebacker, defensive end from Alabama. What a remarkable season he's had. And I wanted to recap kind of bowl season, talk about transfer portal and opt-outs, since that has been kind of like the topic in college football over the last few days, in particular after some of the comments that you saw elsewhere right before the Rose Bowl. Let's start, though, by diving back into what has happened. What did we just see, folks?

We saw the playoff, we saw the New Year 6 games. Here's what we saw in the college football playoff. Not all that competitive, was it? Bama absolutely took care of Cincinnati. Michigan was no match for Georgia, 34, 11 in that one, 276. in the first game that day. And listen, folks, there was basically zero meaningful touchdown scored against the SEC in the college football playoffs.

It was completely dominant, completely dominant from both Bama and from Georgia. From a physical standpoint, neither Cincinnati nor Michigan could match up at the line of scrimmage. And it was painfully obvious, basically the very first run that Alabama had with Brian Robinson in the game against Cincinnati. Cincinnati runs a very unique style of D.P. where it's kind of a three, it's kind of like a stack three, three, five. The problem is, is that you cannot hold up against a powerful run game without much stronger

edges. And without those edges, what you see is that you saw the offensive line just absolutely mull down the edge of the defensive line from Cincinnati, and they had no chance. They had no chance. I would say this, listen, I think Luke Fickle and his coaching staff do a really good job in general. When I watch their film, I love what they do offensively. Defensively, they fly around. They play man coverage. They're generally more talented than their opponents in that league, in particular on the outside defensively,

with guys like, excuse me, Amard Gardner and Kobe Bryant. The problem was, is that you got into this game and it was very apparent that Alabama was going to be, I want to call it conservative, but they didn't have to put the ball up in the year. They were just going to run the football because they were physically better up front than Cincinnati. and Cincinnati never adjusted.

I'm like, what? You've got two of the best corners in college football if you're Cincinnati. And they never zeroed up. By zero up, I mean, bring all the safeties down, bring all the resources down to stop the run, and zero up, meaning like zero coverage, zero man, zero safeties in the middle of the field,

man coverage on the outside. You never one time allowed Sauce Gardner, Ahmad Gardner, who, by the way, probably is the best corner in college football, at least the one that played for the entirety of the season. Maybe the top corner selected in the NFL draft. We'll see he's certainly a first round talent. And they never just said like, hey, we're going to take our chances with him,

our best player against Jameson Williams, and we're going to commit everyone else to stopping the run. I never felt like they did that. And from a game plan perspective, Alabama did exactly what you should do. Since that wasn't happening against Cincinnati, they just said, okay, we're just going to run the ball right down your throat. And Brian Robinson had a phenomenal day. Kudos to him.

That offensive line did a great job. So that was the first game, 27-6. Then Georgia and Michigan, and then everyone's excited, right? It's kind of what we may be expected in the first game. It's like, listen, it's great that Cincinnati got there. I think that they deserved it. I'm glad that they were in the playoff, but it wasn't all that close in particular physically.

Then you get to the nightcap and you're like, all right, here we go. Michigan, the powerful run game, their offensive line, Aidan Hutchinson and that defense, Dax Hill is going to play. You get all excited about this. You think about Georgia and the way that they played against Alabama. and you think to yourself, maybe they weren't as dominant as we thought. Then the game kicked off. And the physical domination by Georgia was apparent. Folks, they owned them at the line of scrimmage. That defensive line led by Jordan Davis was phenomenal. And Kobe Dean was flying

around the speed that they had on the second level of their defense was so apparent. And it was dominant over that Michigan team. That offensive line from Michigan didn't have have a chance. I felt frankly, sorry for Kate McNamara because he didn't have any time. There wasn't, what are you going to do from a skill position standpoint if you're Michigan, other than just get put into very tough situations? They started turning the football over. Georgia was dominant with that defense. That was impressive. I got to tell you, I thought that Michigan was going to be able to run enough to get to the wrinkles, to get to the play action pass, to have the tied-in matchups where they would be able to score, you know, 17,

24 points. Not even close. Not even close. And then Georgia on the other side offensively, they were able to play conservatively. Stetson Bennett did a nice job getting the ball out of his hands quickly. And that took, negated the pass rush from guys like David Ajabo on the outside for Michigan and Aidan Hutchinson. So a really smart and good game plan from Georgia that was really executed at a premium level and elite level by the line of scrimmage on both sides, offensively and defensively. Michigan gets the late touchdown. Listen, they've got a lot of good young players. I can't wait to see what they can turn into here in the next couple of years with another good quality recruiting class or two. But this one wasn't particularly close. Not quite

what Michigan State did in their playoff game or what Ohio State did in their first playoff game. Remember those first, excuse me, not Ohio State's first, but that playoff game against Clemson. So it wasn't the worst Big Ten performance that we've seen. in a college football playoff, but the domination from Georgia was apparent, and now we've got these two teams that have, let's be honest, Georgia was the best team all year. We didn't see their loss coming against Alabama

in the SEC championship game, and now we're going to get those two again. More on that in just a moment. But I wanted to get to these other bowl games because while those games weren't great, you can talk about them, and they certainly had great elements, in particular on one side of those performances,

we did have amazing games in the other New Year's Six bowl games. I thought these games were phenomenal. The Oklahoma State Notre Dame game was sensational. I was at the Rose Bowl with my family. It was the first time I ever got to take my boys to a football game as a fan. I hadn't been to a football game as a fan in over 10 years. My wife asked me when we were walking up,

like, how long has it been since you actually sat and watched a football game? And I was like, you know what? That's a great question. It had been over 10 years. And so to be able to take my kids and go to the Rose Bowl was phenomenal. I thought that game against Old Miss, there was a lot to talk about there. Clearly, with Matt Corral, the quarterback, we're going to get to that a little bit. I'm going to talk about transfers.

I'm going to talk about opt-outs. And then that Pitt, Michigan State game, I thought that was a terrific game as well. Oklahoma State, that's a huge momentum win, building forward for that program. The Rose Bowl was insane, and the individual performance from Jackson Smith and Jigba was unreal. And you could feel it even sitting in the stands. You didn't have to have a television and the graphics and the replays to know that this guy was putting on an absolute show. 15 catches 347 yards and three touchdowns. And that was against the Utah defense that all year had been pretty salty.

That was an amazing performance from Jackson Smith and Jigba. It was amazing to watch. I loved being there. I think that the Rose Bowl is the mecca of college football. It reveals at sale. So you kind of drive down to the Aurora Seco and then boom, here it is with kind of like the ray of shining light on the Rose Bowl. What an amazing day that it was. Now, just a reminder, folks, because we saw great bowl games and not great playoff games, what if we had this 12-team playoff? Remember,

this is my version of a 12-team playoff. Clats 12-team playoff. I would see the top six champions one through six. You'd have to win your conference to be a top-six seed, and then everyone gets slotted in after that. The first round would be at the top-seed home site on campus, and I think that we would have some great games within the playoff, and you might have some upsets, not like what we get now in the four-team version of the playoff. I just, gosh, this would be so good. It would be so good.

And I think that we're close. I really do. I think that the powers that be in college football need to really put their heads together and get over some of these small hurdles in order to give college football what I think would benefit the whole, which is an expanded playoff,

an expanded meaning of college football, an expanded postseason that allow teams to build towards the future, less opt-outs that we're going to talk about here in a little bit, and ultimately better and more competitive games. That's at least my estimation. Welcome back into the program. So happy and pleased to be joined now by one of the premier defenders in all of college football. This guy has been an absolute beast. Will Anderson from the University of Alabama. Will, what's going on, bud? How are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing today. We're doing fantastic. First of all, congratulations on a big semi-final win. You guys took care

of Cincinnati. You are the SEC champions, and here you are a place that I'm sure each and every year you guys expect yourselves to be in, which is competing for a national championship. Take us through what the mindset is this week. You're sitting here midweek getting prepared for Georgia. You know, the mindset is, you know, everybody just be locked in, everybody paying attention to the little details, making sure that we're all on the same page. that you know, negative energy, everybody's positive, is good energy, I practice so we can roll it over into the game and everybody has a good game.

So I think that's where the mindset is and everybody's focused and everybody's getting ready to play. It's fascinating to me when you read some of the comments from you guys because you and others on your team have articulated this notion of feeling disrespected or even like last week you were the underdog to some extent, even though you guys are the preeminent program in college football. Where do you derive that type of motivation? And can you explain it to us for those of us that are maybe not close to the program?

I think it's just coming back to all season long. People were saying that Alabama wasn't a elite team and all these other stuff. Day in and day out, we go to practice and we practice hard. We have good energy, you know. We give it all we got. Every day we step on the field, and I don't think people see that part. You know, it just took a while because, you know, this was a new team. We had to get a lot of people up to the Alabama standard of how we played.

And last week, I was just generally speaking, not just about that game, but just overall the whole season that, you know, people really doubted us and that they didn't really respect us. So it just wasn't that game. It was just generally speaking over the whole course of the whole season that, you know, we've been dispected for almost every game that we played. And, you know, we go out there, we fight, we played fourth. You know, we do what we need to do.

And I don't think people understand that and see that. So that's just why I'm coming from. But the mindset is, you know, we have to play to Alabama standard. And we have to play to the expectation here that previous players and coaches have brought here. So that's what the mindset is. Yeah. And you think about that expectation. The expectation is to win every single game. And that's incredibly difficult to do.

There's no doubt you guys had a remarkable season a year ago. This season, you were a younger team, let's face it. And you guys had to learn some of those lessons. If you would, you know, and I know it's difficult here at the end of the year, but can you take me back to the week after the loss of Texas A&M? What was the locker room like? What was that week of practice like? And did you know at that point that you guys would take off to do and achieve something great?

Most definitely, I think once people seem that, you know, just because we're in Alabama, just because we have this airing on chest, you know, people are going to lay down for us, people are not going to fight. I think you click for everybody. you know, we're going to get everybody's best every week. So when everybody seen that and they knew how serious it really was, I think that's when the mindset started shifting. And I think after the Texas A&M game, a lot of people woke up.

A lot of people started stepping up a lot, filling big roads, feeling big shoes, you know. A lot of people locked in, you know, they start playing to the Alabama standard. And I think that's what it's all about. I hate that. They had to take a loss for us to understand that. But I think it was, you know, a good lesson to be learned that, you know, if you don't go out there,

prepare the right way, you don't play the right way, You know, we can't get beat. So that's the mindset and the shift. And that was the mindset and how it shifted towards the rest of the season and just calm. So and that's what we're at now. You know what's at stake. We know what we have to do. Everybody know how serious it is now.

And I think that's the biggest goal that we have to say, we have to get ready for it. A national championship is what's at stake. And now you guys play Georgia and you guys know intimately how good they are, how talented they are. You beat them just a few weeks ago, right? And I know it's going to be difficult to beat them a second time, but what did you learn about playing Georgia a few weeks ago in the SEC championship game and a win for Bama as they took home that title? What did you learn about your team and theirs in that game?

Georgia is a very physical football team. They have a very great online. Their quarterback is really good. The physicality has is really great. I mean, it's going to be a good challenge for us. And, you know, I think our team, we know what's ahead. We know the challenge that we face. you know, we all respect Georgia, no matter the outcome of the last game, this is a new game.

So we know the challenges that are ahead of us and we just have to be prepared for it. Will, you know, I told you right before we started the interview, it's been an absolute pleasure watching you play, you know, whether it's the games or the game tape, which I go back and I watch your motor, your electricity, the way that you get after the quarterback, clearly lead your teammates, your talent. It just pops off the tape. Congratulations on a great year. Good luck on Monday. against Georgia, and I can't tell you how much we appreciate you joining us. Thanks, bud. Thank you for having me. You got it. Will Anderson from the University of Alabama.

Like I said, phenomenal year. Guys are phenomenal talent. Can't wait to watch him for years to come in the National Football League. Lots going on in college football right now. Let's tackle two subjects here and we'll try to work through them as quickly as we can. First, transfer portal and then opt-outs of bowl games at the end of the year. Let's start with Transfer Portal. And the reason that this is so topical is because Caleb Williams decided that he was going to enter the transfer portal. He says, I came to Oklahoma with a game plan, but with all the recent changes, I need to figure out what is the right path for me moving forward. According to NCAA rules, as a student athlete, the only way I can speak with other schools and see who may offer the best preparation and

development for my future career is by entering the portal. Staying at OU will definitely be an option as I begin this process. Okay, let's, let's, before we dive directly into just Caleb, Let's talk more generally about the portal because I think it also encapsulates Caleb and his decision. First and foremost, I absolutely believe that any American, but in particular, these college football players, deserve the autonomy to control their own future. Okay. And this one-time transfer is a good thing for college football. That does not mean that there aren't unintended consequences to the way that we operate within the current transfer portal. Are we going to have situations like a great player early in his career in Caleb Williams transferring out of a place and really a fan base being upset? Yes, that's going to happen.

And that's okay. Why? Because Caleb Williams committed to Lincoln Riley. He wanted to play for the coach who coached Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Jalen Hertz. This is who he committed to. He's a quarterback. He's been talking about the preparation for the next level for a long time. So he wanted to play for Lincoln Riley.

Now Lincoln Riley is gone. This is not the same place that he's. committed to. It's not just the logo on the chest or in the side of the helmet that you're committing to. You're committing to the people at those locations. So should Caleb Williams have the autonomy over his own future and his own career to be able to transfer? Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. There is one thing that I would say about the transfer portal, though, and it really is a couple of things, but one mainly. The problem with the portal is not the portal itself. It's not the one-time transfer exception. It is the fact that we don't have guardrails about the calendar in which there are times

when you can transfer. See, I don't think the transfer should portal should be open during the season because that will just lead to emotional decisions based on playing time on a Saturday and you enter the portal on a Sunday in October. I also think that if we're looking at this from a calendar perspective, we should have a signing period just for transfer portal athletes so we understand what the roster management is for these head coaches because the fear, I have is there are too many players in the portal and not enough places for them to go. It's like not enough chairs on the deck of the Titanic, right? Or not enough lifeboats on the Titanic as it's sinking.

All these players leave. There's been like 3,000 in the last couple of months that have entered the transfer portal. The problem is there's not 3,000 spots for them to go to because of incoming freshmen. So that's a problem. So we're going to have to at least talk about the roster management and the calendar. What are the guardrails that allow for players to make more? informed, less emotional decisions, and then ultimately still have a spot where that scholarship can exist at a different location via roster management. So that's my transfer portal deal.

Caleb Williams is going to go. He's probably going to make a lot of money in NIL on this transfer, and good for him. Okay. I have never, never argued that NIL is bad or that the one-time transfer is bad. There are unintended consequences, but overall, it's a good thing. Now let's talk about opt-outs. And I know that this is a little bit of a different conversation. But this Matt Corral injury in his bowl game really had everyone talking in particular with the comments made on the other network about opt-outs and the love of football. I will say this. Those comments I disagree with. Having said that, there are a lot of different angles that you can talk about in terms of opt-outs.

I wouldn't have done it. This or that. It is what it is. It is a personal decision for these players. I will land on this. As I tweeted out about Matt Corral, I hope Matt Corral. Rout gets well quickly. He wanted to play the game he loves with the teammates he loves. He should have done. He shouldn't have done anything other than what he wanted to do. It's their personal

decision. And it really lands on value for me. Okay, if I was going to help a player or give advice to a player, it would be this. If you can increase your value in the NFL draft, you should play. If you can't increase your value, then maybe you should think about opting out. But the bottom line is, is a guy like Jackson Smith and Jigba went out there in bowl season and absolutely dominated on the field. He increased his value if he was bowl eligible. He would have played and increased his draftable value. At that point, he's making himself millions of dollars by increasing his spot, just one or two spots within the first round of the NFL draft.

So if you're Crystal Lave or Garrett Wilson, you can increase your value, maybe you should think about playing. If you don't think you can increase your value, then you need to think about not playing. But I will not criticize the love of the sport. I don't know all the ins and outs of every decision made. And all of these decisions are very personal ones for each of these players. And they should be treated as such. What's up? A little clap back time.

Let's see what everyone's saying on Twitter. I have a feeling there's going to be some upset people about potentially the national championship game. And here we are, Doug. What's up, Doug? Douglas. How are we doing? It looks like a fun golf course.

that you're playing right there, although it looks like you're in the rough, so try to drive the ball a little bit straighter. Every hole's a birdie hole from the fairway. He says nobody's watching the SEC championship repeat, but congrats to both. I totally disagree with this take. Completely disagree. Everyone's going to be watching this game. The ratings suggest that they're going to be just fine. Now, do I think it's the best thing for the sport to always have these regional-type finals? No, probably not. But it is what we got, and we got the best two teams playing. They're going to be people watching. I'm going to be watching. and I want you to join me.

Here's why. We're going to have a nice watch party, folks. Okay, here's the deal. On all of our social platforms, college football on Fox, digital platforms, you can watch me, watch the game and we'll watch it together.

What do you think? When the game kicks off on Monday night, come join us. I'll be live. We're going to have lots of guests. It's going to be a lot of fun. You can hear all of my thoughts during the course of the national championship

as Alabama takes on Georgia on Monday night. But for now, that'll do it for breaking the huddle. Folks, it's been a phenomenal year. Can't wait for Monday night. Remember, join us on that watch party, and we will see you then.