Redshirt senior offensive lineman Spencer Anderson returned to the Maryland football program for one last season because he has unfinished business.
Although the Terps ended the 2021 season with a 54-10 win against Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl last December, Anderson is still not satisfied. Instead, he sees it as the beginning of the 2022 season.
“7-6 is good, but it’s also not what we strive for,” Anderson said. “I know it was good to get a bowl game, [but] it’s not the best of things. You’re kind of celebrating mediocrity.”
“That was kind of like our first game of this season,” he added. “I kind of felt like that was a precursor of what we’re going to be this season.”
Maryland fourth-year head coach Michael Locksley shared similar sentiments during Big Ten Media Days in late July.
“When you have the type of year we had last year, the natural reaction is to say let’s build upon it,” Locksley said. “We don’t see ourselves building on it because last year’s version of Maryland football is no longer here. We’re looking forward to this year’s version of the Maryland football family doing the necessary things — playing with discipline, toughness, effort and being committed and connected to take the next step as a program.”
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Anderson figures to be a big part of that. The Bowie, Md., native and Bishop McNamara High School graduate is entering his fifth season at Maryland and has become one of the team’s leaders. He has started the Terps’ last 18 games dating back to 2020.
Anderson has grown with the offense as a whole. In 2019, the Terps’ offense finished 10th in the Big Ten in yards per game, 11th in passing and seventh in rushing. In the shortened 2020 season, they finished third in yards per game, second in passing and ninth in rushing. And in 2021, they finished fourth in yards per game, third in passing and 10th in rushing. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa set a new single-season program record for most passing yards in a season (3,860).
Anderson started nine games at right tackle and four at center in 2021. This was not a new task for him since he started four games at left tackle and one at center during the five-game 2020 season. Anderson said he has been playing all over the offensive line since he was in Pop Warner football.
“I feel like tackle is more of a responsibility,” Anderson said. “You’re out there on your own. You’re on an island against the best athletes on each team. You’re going against guys who are 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 and above, 250 to 260 pounds that can move like 180-pound defensive backs. I feel like there’s more responsibility out there because you don’t have any help most of the time.
“But at center, there’s having to ID and make calls for the rest of the line. Other than that, it’s pretty simple if a team is in a four-down front. It gets a little tricky if a team is in a three-down front because then you have somebody in your face every single time.”
That knowledge and experience helped Anderson become Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded pass-blocking tackle in the Big Ten in 2021. Anderson attributed his success to Locksley, offensive line coach Brian Braswell and his teammates.
“I think it is a testament of the pillars that we kind of were building on most when Locksley got here and I also think it’s our offensive line coach,” Anderson said. “When I was looking at myself on film, from 2018 to 2020 I look like a whole different player because of the techniques that Coach Brian has taught us.”
“There’s just certain stuff that kind of erased my whole thinking of how the offensive line is played,” he explained. “It’s not always about who’s the biggest, who has the most brawn or who’s the most aggressive. It’s really about angles, hand placements and beating guys to the spot. I feel like in the past if I was beaten I would kind of panic. But Coach Brian instilled different techniques to help combat that.”
However, Anderson is not satisfied with just being the conference’s highest-rated pass-blocking tackle. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection in 2021 but believes he could have earned first- or second-team honors.
Now as a leader of the team in 2022, Anderson is looking to guide his younger teammates. He stresses to freshmen to not get down when something goes wrong on the field.
“Sometimes young guys don’t pick it up as fast because they haven’t had the playing time or experience to understand it,” Anderson said. “It will click at some point. Some guys are getting it. I feel like they’re coming along faster than I was. When I came in, I don’t think I had the guidance. I was kind of just doing my own thing. It’s OK to speak up. But at the end of the day, you also have to back up your talk with your play.”
As Anderson prepares for his final season, he does wish he would have gotten the chance to go to California as part of Big Ten play. USC and UCLA recently announced they’d leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
“I think it’d be good to see USC and UCLA join us in the Big Ten,” Anderson said. “If they had joined a little bit earlier, I would have been cool with it because I would have gotten to travel out to California and whatnot. The Pac-12 isn’t regarded as one of those powerhouse conferences like the SEC or the Big Ten. So, I feel like it’s a good move for those two historically good programs.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 276: August/September 2022
Originally published Aug. 17, 2022