HUNGRY FOR MORE
Anderson returns to AT&T Stadium searching for success again vs. TCU
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Rodney Anderson has some unfinished business to attend to at AT&T Stadium.
Three years ago, the Oklahoma running back ended his high school career on the turf in Arlington, coming out on the losing side of Katy’s 6A-II state championship game against Cedar Hill. He ended on a personal high note, carrying the ball 24 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns in front of 46,289 people, but the 23-20 loss wasn’t how he wanted to leave Katy or AT&T Stadium.
Saturday afternoon, Anderson will finally get the chance to avenge that defeat — albeit with a different set of teammates — as No. 3 Oklahoma (111, 8-1 Big 12) takes on No. 11 TCU (10-2, 7-2) in the Big 12 title game.
“To be able to contribute there with a College Football Playoff berth on the line, that would really help make up for that
coming up short in his last time playing there,” said Anderson’s dad, Rod. “I know he’s thinking about doing all he can to make sure they come out with a win. That last loss I know is in the back of his mind.”
Anderson’s history with AT&T Stadium dates far beyond the 2014 state championship loss.
He made his debut in Arlington as a sophomore in 2012, playing as a backup to future Nebraska running back Adam Taylor. Anderson had just five carries for 26 yards in that game, but it was enough to help Katy to a 35-24 win against Cedar Hill.
The next year, Katy met Cedar Hill again, but Anderson had moved from a peripheral role to the spotlight. The junior responded with 146 yards — including a 66-yard touchdown run. It wasn’t enough to help the Tigers past Cedar Hill, and Anderson’s team fell 34-24.
Katy suffered its second consecutive state title game loss a year later, but Anderson ripped off a 53-yard run in the first quarter and scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“They made a couple plays at the end to win, but all I can think about, it was so fulfilling,” Rod said. “He had an incredible game. They ended up coming up short, but he had an incredible game and was able to contribute to making it really tight at the end.”
Since that final state championship loss, Anderson has embarked on a journey filled with well-documented twists and turns. There were the two season-ending injuries, the fall from the top of the running back depth chart, and the rise back to the No. 1 spot.
His roller coaster of a collegiate career has been on a steep incline leading up to the Big 12 Championship Game.
In the last six weeks, Anderson has gained 1,041 yards from scrimmage and scored 14 touchdowns — including four in the first half of the No. 11 win against TCU.
“I said early in the year that I’d be interested to see what Rodney really is,” running backs coach Jay Boulware said. “What kind of runner is he really when he gets in the game? How many of those tackles will he actually break? ... As he kept going and progressing, you started seeing the guy that he became, just playing and practicing and getting in the film room and buckling down and working hard. That’s who he is. That’s what’s made him the guy that he is today.”
As a redshirt sophomore, Anderson, who earned second-team AllBig 12 honors earlier this week, could technically declare for the NFL Draft after playing just one full season of college football.
But Anderson insists the NFL is the farthest thing from his mind.
“It’s kind of weird to think about it,” Anderson said Monday. “Really, I haven’t thought about it until just now. I’ve got things to do here. Still got three more games maybe.”
The first of those games will come Saturday as Anderson returns to the cavernous dome of AT&T Stadium for the fourth time in his career to play in one of the higheststakes games he’s faced so far. His whole family will be there, including his younger brother Ryder, who’s a freshman defensive end at Ole Miss and hasn’t seen him play in person since that 2014 state championship loss.
“Every time it’s like walking in there for the first time,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to go back.”