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With a few days left until the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off in Super Bowl LIX, the media tour within the NFL continued on Friday, with Diana Russini meeting with Houston Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. In their conversation, Russini was curious about how Anderson was gifted the nickname The Terminator. However, after discussing Steve Sarkisian gave Anderson the nickname, another discovery came to the forefront, per Russini on X.
Dianna Russini: “The nickname ‘The Terminator,’ just give me the backstory here. Where is this coming from?”
Will Anderson Jr.: “So, that came from Steve Sarkisian. He’s the head coach at Texas right now. And my freshman year, he would call me that because I just be wrecking practice all the time.”
Russini: “You’re so young, though. Do you even know what The Terminator is?”
Anderson Jr.: “I still have not watched one Terminator movie yet.”
Russini: “You have a nickname of a movie from a show that you’ve never seen?”
Anderson Jr.: “Never seen it. I’ve seen pictures of it. Yeah, I’ve seen pictures.”
Russini: “I think you need to put that in your offseason plans, between a couple workouts, because it is really good.”
Anderson Jr.: “Okay, I’m going to binge it this offseason.”
Russini: “Good, do it. There’s like seven of them, so maybe you’ll get addicted.”
Steve Sarkisian coined Will Anderson's "Terminator" nickname.
One problem — he's never seen any of the movies
Our conversation: https://t.co/Ri18aMclLN pic.twitter.com/jn9qHk7Eqt
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) February 7, 2025
For those unfamiliar with Sarkisian’s resume, he was Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for two seasons from 2019 to 2020, spending his final year with the Crimson Tide during the Texans’ edge rusher’s freshman campaign.
And during that single season, his game-wrecking ability forced Sarkisian to find the perfect name to describe the edge rusher.
That’s when The Terminator was born.
Well, that’s when Anderson adopted the nickname, rather.
It’s understandable how the two could be mistaken for each other, too, as Anderson is an absolute force on the field.
At Alabama, Anderson was a two-time All-American, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022, leading him to become the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Terminator mentality must’ve stuck with Anderson in the NFL, as he was named 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first season with the Texans.
And since Sarkisian gifted Anderson with the nickname, he’s taken on the identity without watching a second of the movies.
However, following his conversation with Russini, the Texans’ edge rusher has his work cut out for him in the offseason in front of the television screen.
The post Will Anderson Jr. reveals hilarious Steve Sarkisian story on ‘Terminator’ nickname appeared first on ClutchPoints.
