MORE: Spring Football Central

Time and again, every receiver has had coach JaMarcus Shephard barking in their ear his spring.

You better improve … the pressure in on … these four receiver recruits coming in June don’t plan to sit the bench …

On and on it has gone.

“Every day, he tells us,” said Amad Anderson, Jr. “I’ll never forget, every day he is telling us someone is coming in to take my spot. And I just turn that into motivation.”

Anderson is making a case for himself this spring. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a player who has had a better spring than Anderson, a redshirt freshman. During Saturday’s scrimmage inside the Mollenkopf Center, Anderson unofficially made six receptions with a touchdown. He made some nice grabs, continuing his hot play all spring. Anderson also made some nice grabs in practice on Monday. He will look to cap his strong showing with a big effort in the spring game on Saturday.

“What has been encouraging is Amad has shown he has a knack for making plays,” said Jeff Brohm. “He kind of stood out on film as a guy who has kinda shown up and made a hard play. So far in camp, he has done the same thing.”

Simeon Smiley was asked about Anderson’s progress. But the junior cornerback wasn’t gonna hand out compliments. It’s all about competing.

"I don’t like gassing up receivers,” said Smiley, laughing. “He ain’t doing nothing. He couldn’t open today on me.”

Anderson’s response?

“That’s OK,” he said. “I am no friend of the defense, either. That’s OK. I’m gonna say the same thing about him.”

Anderson has let his actions do the talking all spring, as he has been finding holes in the secondary—which didn’t have a good scrimmage.

“Defensively, we gave up too many big plays,” said Brohm. “We have to find ways to eliminate those.”

Junior Jared Sparks, who according to GoldandBlack.com stats, made a team-high eight catches with three TDs in the scrimmage. Junior Jackson Anthrop and sophomore Noah Ellison each had five receptions and a run. Anthrop had a rare double-double, making a TD catch and tossing a pick on a trick play.

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And then there was Rondale Moore. The staff knows what it will get from the sensational sophomore. He had his moments on Saturday, but Moore was relatively quiet with three grabs—including one nice play where he took a short pass and turned it into a big-gainer. It was vintage Moore. But, again, this spring isn’t about Moore. It’s about the other wideouts. And Anderson has been the biggest head-turner.

At 5-11, 175, the Staten Island, N.Y., product is slight. What he lacks in bulk, he compensates for with quickness and nifty hands. Despite his less-than-imposing dimensions, Anderson has carved out a niche working as an outside receiver—even though his more suited to play the slot.

“I have been playing (outside) my whole career,” said Anderson. “I have developed a lot as a receiver and working the techniques my coaches have asked me to do. So it has helped me out a lot, stacking defenders, using my speed. A lot of the little things coaches are telling me to do are helping me succeed on the outside.”

Brohm has taken notice.

“Really, it’s a matter of him just knowing what to do, being smart on the play, knowing the adjustments that could take place with it and going hard,” said Brohm. “He knows exactly what to do. He has done a very good job. And, yes, he has risen toward the top and he’s a guy we have to make sure we get ready to play.

"To this point, we feel like we can count on him to go in there and do things to produce. We have been very happy with his progress this spring.”

While Anderson has played well, Shephard still is gonna keep barking at him about the impending arrival of ballyhooed freshmen like David Bell and Milton Wright.

“I ain’t gonna let someone come in and take my job,” said Anderson. “It is what it is. whoever is the best guy is gonna be out there. That’s the bottom line.”

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