Father of Joseph Anderson weighs in on Nebraska official visit
Bennie Anderson provides thoughts on attending the Nebraska official visit with his son Joseph Anderson
MIKE SCHAEFER4 hrs4
Former NFL offensive lineman
Bennie Anderson wasn’t quite expecting what he found in Nebraska during an official visit his son,
Joseph Anderson, took over the weekend.
Having gone through the process of playing in the league and experiencing some visits with a pair of older sons playing college football, Anderson admitted he thought things might appear a little stuffier when he got to Lincoln. Instead Anderson said he was impressed by how inviting and pleasant the atmosphere was in Lincoln.
“When you talk about a Power Five conference like the Big Ten and one of the elite storied programs in college football history with Nebraska, I thought it would be more of a corporate atmosphere,” Anderson said. “Instead it was very personable. It was very relationship based. That was from the coaching staff who just got there but also the people who have been there for 30 to 40 years. Really Nebraska is a place where relationships are valued. That was my biggest surprise.”
Overall Anderson great enjoyed the official visit as a parent. While recruits might get excited about the photoshoots and all the meals or to hang with other recruits in a different location, Anderson saw exactly what he hoped to see in Lincoln.
“It was great,” he said. “My expectations for Nebraska as far as the facilities and the coaching staff — I had high expectations and they met those — but the thing I appreciate the most is the quality of young men they have on the team. I was very impressed.”
Being involved in football the way Anderson has there’s usually some sort of connection to other football veterans or those involved in the NFL. However this time for Anderson it was meeting all new people though he said going in he had heard good things.
In particular Anderson enjoyed meeting
Matt Rhule.
“I think Matt Rhule is a coach that has a plan,” Anderson said. “I think he’s a relationship-minded, team-building coach. I think his message and program will resonate with young people.”
Anderson, who came out of Tennessee State to be a multiyear starter on the Baltimore Ravens offensive line in the early 2000s, said he’s experienced so much shift in college football recruiting, even in the short-time between sons going through the experience as he has one son (
Bennie Anderson) at Yale and another at Eastern Michigan (Joshua Anderson).
“It’s really night and day,” he said. “This experience with Joseph even from those years has been a totally different experience. Everything has accelerated with NCAA rules with expansion of visits and with the transfer portal. Things are different.”
The Andersons still have a few more visits to go as trips to Cockeye and Kansas are up later this month. There’s currently no timeline for a decision.
