Wake Forest Athletics
Q&A With Junior Jason Anderson
8/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2003
Junior Jason Anderson returns as one of Wake Forest??s veteran leaders on offense and one of the top wide receivers in the ACC and perhaps college football. Anderson, who caught 23 passes for 535 yards and six touchdowns last season, has the potential to rank along with Desmond Clark, Ricky Proehl and others as one of the top receivers in Wake history. Anderson stopped by the media relations office after this morning??s practice for the latest in a series of Q&A??s with Deacon players.
Q: It looked like practice took its toll on you guys today.
JA: It wasn??t bad, but I took one of the hardest hits I??ve ever taken. (Defensive back) Marcus McGruder hit me right in the side and the stomach when I came across the middle. It knocked the wind out of me.
Q: I would think playing against a secondary as talented as ours has to help you, right?
JA: I think so. They are so physical and active. They make it difficult to run routes against them, so when you accomplish that, you feel pretty good.
Q: You and James MacPherson were a pretty good duo together. Three of the longest pass plays in Wake Forest history were MacPherson-to-Anderson. Is it strange not seeing him behind center?
JA: I miss James because he??s the guy I started with. But Cory will do a great job. It??s not like Cory is coming in completely new. He took reps last season and picked up the offense.
Q: You look around and suddenly you are one of the veterans, one of the leaders of this team. How does that feel?
JA: It??s kind of strange, but I like it. I like being looked at as one of the old guys and having the freshmen come to me. Kind of feels like high school again. I came into camp this year with the mindset that I wanted to be a leader.
Q: Speaking of freshmen, true freshman wide receive Kenneth Moore is also a Charlotte Butler High School grad. How do you like having another Butler alum around?
JA: I love it. I think the fact that I??m here makes him more comfortable. We have to stick together as Butler alumni. I??m hoping to get more Butler guys here in the future.
Q: As a Charlotte guy, what??s your favorite place to just hang out in the Queen City?
JA: Concord Mills. It??s a big, huge mall with movie theaters, tons of stores.
Q: Charlotte is an NFL city. Do you spend all day Sunday watching NFL games or not?
JA: I make sure to watch the Panther games. I watch the Panthers, Monday Night Football and the playoffs. I only watch anything else if I feel like it. If it??s not the Panthers, I really don??t care.
Q: What NFL receiver do you try to pattern your game after?
JA: Mostly Jerry Rice. Actually, I take something from different people like Jerry Rice??s hands and route-running, Terell Owens?? speed and power and Randy Moss?? speed and leaping ability.
Q: What do you think of a guy like Terell Owens?
JA: I like watching him because he??s so unpredictable. I watch him because you don??t know what he??s going to do next.
Q: What would happen if you scored a touchdown in Groves Stadium, grabbed a pen out of your sock and autographed the football?
JA: Coach (Wide receivers coach Kevin) Sherman would tell me just to keep running ?V just keep running out of the stadium. I don??t event want to know what Coach Grobe would do.
