Behind family support and hard work, Nic Anderson's patience is paying off

Jobie and Rod Anderson faced a mad scramble to secure enough tickets. The Sooners were traveling to take on Tulsa for their first road test of the 2023 season, and the Anderson family planned to show out in full force to support Jobie and Rod’s youngest son Nic Anderson.

Jobie and Rod are well accustomed to the hustle of ticket acquisition. Their eldest son, Rodney Anderson, played running back for the Sooners from 2015-2018. The middle child, Ryder Anderson, played defensive end for Ole Miss and Indiana.

But this was a bit different. Nic had 22 relatives in Tulsa to watch him play, a much larger number than normal.

“Nic now holds the record for family support,” Rod told OUInsider.

It’s only fitting that Nic established that record last Saturday. The redshirt freshman didn’t just score the first touchdowns of his collegiate career against Tulsa — he finished the game with three receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the OU program freshman record for most receiving scores in a single game.

For Anderson, it was evidence that he can compete with college football’s best. But for his family and his biggest supporters, it was the culmination of a family bond, patience and an incredible work ethic that began long before he arrived at Oklahoma.

Ask Gary Joseph, the longtime football coach at Katy High School in Texas, what stood out the most during Nic’s four years there, and he’ll answer without hesitation.

His work ethic.

“He would come up to the school and work out after practice, just to work on route-running,” Joseph said. “His dad would work with him. He wasn’t afraid to do the extra stuff. He wanted to be good. His oldest brother, Rodney, was a really good player and his other brother (Ryder) was a good player. They didn’t have the work ethic that this one did. (Nic) just had a tremendous work ethic.

“He had talent obviously, but he made himself a bigger, stronger kid just because of the way he would work at things.”

That work ethic began years before he got to high school. He initially played running back before he got to middle school, when his coaches moved him to wide receiver.

While attending a football camp at Oklahoma, former OU receivers coach Dennis Simmons got the Anderson family in touch with Margin Hooks, a well-known wide receivers trainer in Texas.

“He started working with Margin in middle school. We’d drive to Dallas over the offseason on weekends and get him some work in,” Rod said. “Jobie would go, too, and we would all just make a family trip out of it every weekend. That hard work is what comes to mind. He wanted to be very technical. He wanted to be the best receiver he could be.”

However, Nic didn’t initially stand out when he first got to high school. Katy is one of the most-successful football programs in the state of Texas, and there were plenty of older, talented wide receivers vying for playing time.

Still, Nic worked hard and found advantages wherever he could.

“Coach Joseph would be the last coach to leave (after practices), and we’d be trying to jump over the fence just to get in because it would be locked, so we’d kind of sneak over,” Rod said. “He’d see us working out and not saying anything. Then he’d start saying, ‘Lock up when you leave.’"

By the time he was an upperclassman, Nic had impressed the coaches. He started his first game as a junior and helped lead Katy to the Texas 6A D-II state championship. His senior year, he recorded 29 receptions for 529 yards and five touchdowns.

“He was a good kid,” Joseph said. “He matured more and more going into his junior and senior year. He was just a tall, awkward-type kid when he got there. In junior high, he wasn’t nothing real special. He worked very hard, he had a great work ethic and he made himself into a good football player.”

Nic, rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, had committed to Oregon the summer before his senior year. But Anderson changed course and eventually signed with OU, following in his brother’s footsteps.

Make no mistake — Nic, Ryder and Rodney are very competitive.

“The holes in the wall prove that,” Rod joked.

But they care deeply for each other, too. Ryder, who’s currently playing for the New York Giants, often watches film of Nic’s games and helps dissect where he could improve. Rodney has been a helpful figure since long before Nic arrived at OU.

That bond proved really strong during Nic's first season at Oklahoma. The highly-touted freshman dealt with injuries throughout the year, limiting him to just three games and 23 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus. It was a frustrating time for Nic, especially considering the Sooners finished with a 6-7 record. But Nic leaned on his older brothers, who have experienced their own struggles with injuries.

“Really throughout my whole career, (my brothers) have been big role models for me just throughout the whole process,” Nic said. “Keeping my head up, staying the course — it was a really big deal to me.”

Rodney, in particular, knew what Nic was going through. His freshman year at OU, he played just two games before suffering an injury against Tennessee. His sophomore year, he suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. But Rodney kept with it, and his patience paid off his junior year. He played 14 games in 2017, recording over 1,300 total yards and 18 touchdowns while helping lead the Sooners to the College Football Playoff.

It was Rodney’s advice and his own experience with injuries at OU that proved particularly helpful.

“It probably made the biggest difference,” Jobie said. “It’s one thing for your parents to tell you something, but for your brothers to have been through it… He trusts his brothers. They all three talk every week and they can check on him all the time.

“Obviously, he was frustrated. Every athlete at that level wants to be on the field playing. But after watching his two older brothers, he understood the process and he trusted the process and he trusted what God had in store for him and how it was gonna play out. And he’d seen that to be true with his two older brothers when they would go through injuries or difficult times."

That helped push Nic through the struggles, and he kept working through it in hopes of getting back on the field.

“He’s a football junkie and just a great teammate, and last year was very frustrating for him,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “(He’s) a really hard-working guy who last year was just snake-bit. Just couldn’t get over that injury hump, but he hung in there and kept working through it all.”

There’s a lot of game day traditions for the Anderson family. Before games, Rodney meets Nic on the field and helps get him mentally ready. When Rod and Jobie arrive, Rod typically whistles to help his sons find them from the field.

One of the most meaningful traditions happens after the game starts. When one of the Anderson brothers makes a big play — say, a touchdown — they have a special way to show appreciation for Jobie.

“They always have acknowledged their mom with a kiss from the field,” Rod said. “And that’s pretty awesome.”

And there were plenty of big plays for Nic against Tulsa. His first collegiate touchdown came early in the second quarter, when Dillon Gabriel found him for a 28-yard score. Gabriel again found Anderson again early in the second half for a 42-yard touchdown, as Anderson alluded a defender near the right sideline.

But the most impressive play came late in the third quarter. Nic caught a pass from Jackson Arnold near the 20-yard line, dragging his defender the rest of the way to find the end zone.

“I was happy with one (touchdown)," Jobie said. "I was like, ‘Nothing can ruin my day. This is the best thing ever.' Then he did it again and he did it again.

“Then I was like, ‘Where’s Rodney?’ I knew he was going crazy somewhere.”

Just a couple of sections over, Rodney was having more fun celebrating Nic’s historic day than any other fan in the stadium.

“All the boys are super, super supportive of each other," Jobie said. "They are each other’s biggest fans by far, but very rarely do they get to sit in the stands and watch each other because they’re usually playing themselves.”

Nic finished the day with three catches for three touchdowns. And, like he did in high school, he made sure to blow a kiss to his mom from the field.

“It’s a special moment,” Nic said. “I know they’re proud. Just giving back to them, they sacrificed so much for me. Just that little gesture means the world to them so I’ll do it any time I can.”

The game served as reassurance for Nic. But his teammates knew he was more than capable of that type of performance.

“​​He does it every day in practice, so it's not a surprise to me,” Andrel Anthony said.

It was really special for OU sophomore receiver Jayden Gibson.

“Him scoring felt like me scoring three touchdowns,” Gibson said. “I was lit. That's like my twin. I’ve been saying since we got here that we’re going to be a problem together. We both went through a lot last year in different ways. Really happy to see him go out there and dominate. I already knew he had that in him. It was so crazy because he had so much family there, like 20 family members.

“I’m just happy for him. Nic was kind of waiting for his. He deserved that moment. He went through a lot. I’ve seen him when his head is down and head is up. He’s the same guy no matter what.”

And for Jobie, it represented particularly meaningful moment.

“I remember trying to tell him about focusing on your rehab, focusing on your recovery, focusing on your school, controlling the things you can control and trusting that process,” Jobie said. “Now he understands why he did that. It’s validating why he did what he did to get to where he got on Saturday.”

It was meaningful for Nic, too. Now, he’s focused on a new goal — surpassing Rodney’s touchdown total from his days at OU.

He’s got plenty of time to do it.

“I’m coming after it,” Nic joked.