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Trust the process. That's what the father of Purdue redshirt freshman Amad Anderson, Jr., always preached to his son.
"I never had any doubt of what he could do," said Anderson, Sr., who coached his son in youth football. "He loves football and has been playing since he was little."
Look at Amad Anderson, Jr., now. By "trusting the process," Anderson finds himself poised to be a key member of the Boilermakers' receiving unit. Anderson flashed his potential in last week's season opener at Nevada, when he made six catches for 60 yards.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” said quarterback Elijah Sindelar. “He actually saved me on a couple of plays. One was behind him and he ended up catching it for me. He made some tough catches. I love knowing I can put it anywhere close in the general area and he is gonna catch it. That gave me more confidence to go back to him.”
Anderson's push to relevancy began in the spring, when co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard constantly reminded him and any other holdover receivers within ear shot about the raft of talented new receivers that was arriving ... David Bell, Milton Wright, TJ Sheffield, and Mershawn Rice.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy thing to compete for, so I definitely wasn’t sleeping or taking steps back or relaxing when the guys committed here or found out they were coming here,” said Anderson. “It definitely motivated me to keep going hard. I can’t have these little errors I was told to correct a long time ago.”
Anderson put his head down and went to work. He was a spring star, arguably the best wideout on the team at that time. And he continued to impress in camp in August.
Coming out of camp, Anderson earned a starting job along with sophomore Rondale Moore and junior Jared Sparks. But--again--it wasn’t a given playing in a receiving corps that teems with talent. Bell was a four-star recruit rated the No. 1 player in Indiana in the Class of 2019 by rivals.com. Wright was a four-star prospect from Louisville, Ky., with a long list of suitors. Rice was another four-star recruit who could have gone to many schools, while Sheffield was initially headed to Notre Dame.
Anderson? He was committed to Rutgers coming out of Curtis High in Staten Island, N.Y., before flipping to Purdue. Anderson had his work cut out for him if he wanted to make a mark in 2019.
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“I felt like I did everything the coaches asked me to do,” said Anderson. “I paid attention to all of the little details they wanted in alignments and stuff like that. Basically, I did what the coaches told me to do and it basically has put me in the position I am now.”
All of that work began during his redshirt season in 2018. He was a sponge.
“The guys who were seniors when I was coming in, definitely, I didn’t take the redshirt year for granted,” said Anderson. “I looked at the guys and learned from the guys that were here and were starting and were backups. Basically, it was mental, pay attention, lock-in kind of thing.”
Shephard has been impressed. And, he’s a difficult coach to wow.
“He played really tough (in the opener),” said Shephard. “There are a couple tough catches there I'd like to see him make. He did make one really tough one on third down. That was a tremendous catch. But the little hitch. You’ve got to catch those simple ones. Even the post route, I want him to come down with that. I know it’s high, but it’s an opportunity.
"At the end of the day, …we are seeking opportunities every day. When those opportunities present themselves, you have to take advantage of them. That is what I am harping on with him. Take advantage of those opportunities. You talk about a kid who could have gone over 100 yards (at Nevada) if he makes those plays. He could have had 10 catches-plus in the game.”
Anderson may have left some catches and yards on the field last Friday in Reno, Nev., but it was a good start to this Purdue career.
“I am definitely gonna makes some big plays,” said Anderson. “I think that’s why they want me in the game because all of the receivers, we make big plays.”
Anderson will get another chance to impress on Saturday when Purdue plays its home opener vs. Vanderbilt.
“Don’t do anything flashy,” he said. “Just do what the coaches ask you to do.”
And trust the process his father--who will be in the stands on Saturday--always preaches about.
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