The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
47°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Anderson clears football hurdles

WSU’s Jeshua Anderson began to emerge as a deep threat in last week’s loss to UCLA. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
By Vince Grippi vincegrippi55@yahoo.com
WSU’s Jeshua Anderson began to emerge as a deep threat in last week’s loss to UCLA. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Brandon Gibson is getting tired of the same old questions.

Interview after interview, he’s asked about his decision to come back for his senior year, what he thinks of the choice now that WSU is 1-5 (0-3 in the Pac-10) and one of the nation’s poorer teams.

But ask the senior about the emergence of his running mate at receiver, Jeshua Anderson, and Gibson perks up – even as he’s denying he’s Anderson’s mentor.

“I guess, they ask me a lot of questions and stuff,” Gibson said. “But all I try to do is work my butt off and be a good example.”

That example seems to be rubbing off.

“Jesh has become more and more a better receiver,” Gibson said. “If he sticks with it, he could become one of the great ones.”

The qualifier “if he sticks with it” is added because Anderson is already one of the great ones on the track, winning the NCAA 400-meter hurdles national championship as a freshman last spring.

So the football stuff, that’s secondary?

Well, not exactly – at least not in the fall.

“I’m really starting to get into my football mode,” the sophomore from Southern California said this week. “Injuries do lag a little bit, but I’m feeling real healthy right now.”

Anderson, 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds, suffered a hernia in fall camp that, coupled with missing spring football because of track, put him behind.

But last week, near his home in Woodland Hills, Anderson started to emerge as the deep threat the WSU coaches think he can be. In the 28-3 loss to UCLA, Anderson caught three passes for 61 yards and had another 51-yard reception nullified by penalty.

“He doesn’t look as mechanical,” offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy said of Anderson’s development. “He’s getting better and better and better.”

It’s something Anderson, who has caught 16 passes for 174 yards, hopes to keep building on today when the Cougars face Oregon State (2-3, 1-1).

He knows he has improvements to make – “I’ve got to put weight on and get stronger,” he said – if he wants to reach his potential as a receiver. He knows such work will help him in track as well.