Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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caught up on what to do. Josh was here before I got here. It was great seeing his reaction." It was a moment that Anderson said he would always cherish. He claims that he never envisioned it happening. That's primarily because he wasn't recruited by the Fighting Irish out of high school. Instead, he found them. "I could have gone to a lot of smaller schools, Division II and Divi- sion III schools and then some I-AA [now known as Football Champion- ship Subdivision] schools — and I was actually accepted into the Naval Academy," Anderson said. "But once I got into Notre Dame — I got in with early admissions — I was stuck." Anderson — whose father, Joe graduated from Notre Dame in 1973 — wanted to be in South Bend. He just wasn't sure if he would be given a chance to play football. "I contacted them before I officially graduated high school and they said, 'Look, you can walk on with the team for fall camp,'" Anderson said. "And that's how it all started." Fast-forward a few years — and a few fall camps — and Anderson is no longer just another walk-on looking to make a name for himself on the scout team. He's a scholar- ship running back and one that very well could find himself in the mix for some carries this year. "I value every single second of what I did on the scout team," he said. "I'm not going to say it's easy. It's very tough; it's a lot of work. And you know what? I wouldn't change anything." It can pay off just being yourself. ✦