The path to playing college football at the highest level is not the same for every player. That may ring all too true for Ryan Anderson, who finished last season as an All-American punter at Division 3 Olivet College in Olivet, Mich.
As a first-team all-state wide receiver and shooting guard out of Dewitt High School in Dewitt, Mich., Anderson chose to attend Division 2 Saginaw State where he continued both his basketball and football careers.
He was also the punter, in addition to playing wide receiver.
“Out of high school, I could have went Division 1 for punting,” Anderson said this afternoon. “I just chose a D2 school so I could play receiver and punter. That led me to Olivet where I also played basketball for a year. I was recruited heavily for basketball in high school, but football was my first love.”
For the last two seasons, Anderson was a starting wide receiver his stats have ranked in the top five of all FBS punters. He wound up breaking the Division 3 punting record and earned consecutive first-team All-American honors.
Last season, Anderson’s 46.2 yard average ranked No.4 among all FBS punters. His overall resume has started to get the attention of college coaches.
“I visited the University of Delaware last weekend and just picked up an offer from James Madison, the D1aa champs yesterday,” Anderson said. “Some other schools have been showing interest like East Carolina and Texas State. I am visiting Rutgers this weekend.”
The Rutgers coaching staff has shown a heightened interest as special teams coach Vince Okruch made a trip to Michigan yesterday for an in-home visit with Anderson.
“They are getting pretty involved and it is very exciting,” Anderson said of Rutgers. “They have not given me the offer yet, but I am hoping for it. Hopefully, this weekend can seal the deal. Rutgers has a great business school and I have done my research. I am a Big Ten kid."
If an offer does come his way, Anderson mentioned the possibility of a commitment, which would allow him to play one season in the Big Ten as a grad transfer.
"I am going to play it by ear. I will cross that bridge when I get there. As of now, I love everything about Rutgers so far. I love the coaches I have met and it is definitely looking good.”
Following a stellar couple of seasons at Olivet, it is no surprise that Anderson is starting to garner this kind of attention from college coaches.
“After the season and being a first-team All-American the second year in a row, I contemplated trying to make it to the NFL as a free agent this year," Anderson said. "I trained quite a bit for that. But I thought about it and I have another year of eligibility, so why not try to go big time? I was hoping I would get a lot of looks. Punting and kicking is a statistical game. You are punting on the same field dimensions in D3 as you are in D1. Being ranked up there in the top percent of all the D1 guys as far as numbers go, I was expecting to get some attention.”
Anderson is currently finishing up this spring semester at Olivet, but still remains very busy through the offseason.
“My undergrad degree will be in Business Administration with a concentration in management and a minor in Sports and Rec Management. For the last year and a half, I have actually worked as a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual. I am real into the finance world as far as professionally.”
Anderson carries a 4.0 GPA and in 79 career punts at Olivet, he holds a 44.2 yard average with 20 of those punts going beyond 50 yards. He has also placed 24 of those punts inside the 20-yard line.
