Robert Blake Anderson (born March 24, 1969) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player who is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

. Anderson previously served as the head coach at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

from 2014 to 2020, the offensive coordinator at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

from 2012 to 2013, and the offensive coordinator, run game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

from 2009 to 2011.

Playing career

Anderson began his playing career as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and wide receiver at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

from 1987 to 1989, but tore his ACL during practice. After his recovery he chose to transfer to Sam Houston State University where he played as a wide receiver for the Bearkats from 1989 to 1991. At Sam Houston State he was named to the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

All-Academic team as a senior. During his college days he played in the I-formation and

Veer The Veer is an option running play often associated with option offenses in American football, made famous at the collegiate level by Bill Yeoman's Houston Cougars. It is currently run primarily on the high school level, with some usage at the ...

offenses popular at the time. Sam Houston State Defensive Coordinator Mike Lucas told Anderson that he believed he was suited for a coaching role.

Coaching career

Eastern New Mexico (1992–1993)

Anderson got his start from Howard Stearns at

Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds football The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds are the athletic teams that represent Eastern New Mexico University, located in Portales, New Mexico, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Greyhounds compete as members of the Lone Star Conference ...

as a graduate assistant in 1992 and received a full-time position there tutoring wide receivers for the Greyhounds in 1993.

Howard Payne (1994)

In 1994, he coached wide receivers for the

American Southwest Conference The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas and Arkansas. The conference competes in baseball, men's and w ...

co-champion Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets under head coach Vance Gibson.

Trinity Valley (1995–1998)

Anderson joined the Trinity Valley in 1995 as an assistant. He was the offensive coordinator during the Cardinals run to the 1997 NJCAA National Championship under coach Scott Conley.

New Mexico (1999–2001)

Before the 1999 season he joined

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

as running backs coach under

Rocky Long Roderick John Long Jr. (born January 27, 1950) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Syracuse. Prior to being hired by Syracuse, Long was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico. He play ...

and served in that position until 2000. During the 2001 season he took the wide receivers coaching position. During the 2000 season his rushing attack averaged 148 yards per game which accounted for 56% of the team's offensive production.

Middle Tennessee (2002–2004)

In 2002

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...

coach Andy McCollum hired Anderson to serve as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in replacement of

Larry Fedora Herbert Lawrence Fedora (born September 10, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the former coach and general manager for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). He previously served as head c ...

who had left for

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. At Middle Tennessee he was exposed to variations of the

Hurry-up offense The hurry-up offense is an American football offensive style, which has two different but related forms in which the offensive team avoids delays between plays. The hurry-up, no-huddle offense (HUNH) refers to avoiding or shortening the huddle to ...

which dramatically changed his outlook. The Blue Raiders passing offense increased each year under his tenure improving from 154.0 yards per game in 2002 to 226.7 in 2003 and 267.7 in 2004. Anderson's offense led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense in 2003 and saw the school's first 1,000 yard receiver in 2004. After leaving MTSU he left coaching for three years for a stint in private business.

Louisiana–Lafayette (2007)

Anderson was hired by Coach

Rickey Bustle Rickey Norman Bustle (born August 23, 1953) is an American football coach and former player. He is the Head football coach at Athens Christian School in Athens, Georgia, a position he had held since 2021. Bustle served as the head football coach ...

as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Ragin' Cajuns for the 2007 football season, replacing Rob Christophel. Anderson's offense churned out over 250 yards per game on the ground making it the #6 ranked rushing offense in the nation. The 2007 Ragin' Cajuns became the Sun Belt's first ever 3,000-yard rushing team.

Southern Miss (2008–2011)

Anderson joined Southern Miss in 2008 as quarterbacks coach and run game coordinator under new coach

. He mentored record-setting future NFL quarterback Austin Davis during his freshman and sophomore years and was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2010 season where the Golden Eagles averaged 36.9 points per game. Anderson was the play-caller during Southern Miss's stellar 12-win season in 2011 including the Conference USA Football Championship Game victory over the previously unbeaten Houston Cougars. Southern Miss capped off the 2011 season with a 24-17 victory over

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the

Hawaii Bowl The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...

North Carolina (2012–2013)

When Fedora left Southern Miss for

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in 2012 he took Anderson along as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In his inaugural season with the Tar Heels Anderson oversaw an offense that produced 485.6 yards per game, setting over 35 school records, and ending the campaign ranked eighth in the nation in scoring. During the 2013 campaign his offense gained 432.4 yards per game.

Arkansas State (2014–2020)

Anderson was announced as

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

's head coach on December 19, 2013. He became Arkansas State's fifth head coach in five years, replacing Bryan Harsin who had left for Boise State. Arkansas State played in 6 consecutive bowl games and won 2 Sun Belt conference championships under Anderson.

Utah State (2021–present)

On December 12, 2020, Anderson was hired to be the head coach at

, replacing

Gary Andersen Gary Lee Andersen (born February 19, 1964) is an American football coach who was most recently head football coach at Utah State University. Andersen has also been the head football coach of Southern Utah (2003), Wisconsin (2013–2014), and Or ...

Personal life

Anderson was born in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

but moved to

Hubbard, Texas Hubbard is a city in Hill County, Texas, United States. It was named for Texas Governor Richard B. Hubbard. The city is by road south of Dallas. The population was 1,423 at the 2010 census, down from 1,586 at the 2000 census. History Hubbard ...

at an early age. He graduated from Hubbard High School. He obtained a degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human healt ...

from Sam Houston State in 1992 and his master's degree in sports administration from

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensiv ...

in 1994. On August 20, 2019, Anderson announced that his wife Wendy had passed away after a battle with an aggressive form of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

. Defensive coordinator David Duggan coached the team during Anderson's leave. On March 20, 2021, Anderson married Brittany Anderson. Anderson has five children, sons Coleton and Cason, and daughters Callie, Collins, and Ellison.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Utah State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Blake 1969 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Baylor Bears football players Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds football coaches Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football coaches New Mexico Lobos football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Sam Houston State Bearkats football players Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches Trinity Valley Cardinals football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches People from Hubbard, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Texas People from Jonesboro, Arkansas