Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1179542
36 n o r t h w e s t e r n f o o t b a l l • D I G I T A L P R O G R A M • N O R T H W E S T E R N v s . I O W A Bowser's return, of course, will ease the burden on Anderson, who has averaged 4.7 yards-per- carry while netting 405 through this season's first half. "He's kind of been our bell cow and our leader at a young age," Ayeni says of him, and now the coach is asked if the player's diminutive frame can endure the rigors of that role. "I played with his dad (Damien), and he's a strong kid like his dad was," he answers. "If you've watched him, he's taken a lot of carries, he's taken a lot of hits, and he keeps getting up. He keeps getting up. I think he's still growing, learning the game. Every snap he takes is a learning experience, every game he plays is a learning experience. He'll continue to get better. He's nowhere near where I want him to be, but he's a redshirt freshman. He's going to grow. He's going to have some ups and some downs. But one thing I love about the kid is he keeps coming forward, he always has a smile on his face, and he's working his butt off to help this team and to be the best he can be." Anderson, despite his successes, will admit that "I need to make the most of one-on-one match- ups when I'm put in those situations" and that "I've left a lot of yards out on the field." Like, how? "When I say that I'm referring to when I'm in the open field, I'm falling down. In situations where I should make a guy miss, I'm falling down. The Wisconsin game. I had a couple slips in the Nebraska game as well." "I don't know. He's Drake being Drake," Ayeni says when asked about those falls, and then he laughs. "To me a lot of it is a young player trying to do too much. Once he understands what his abilities are, his skill set, he can just stick his foot in the ground and he'll be just fine. He'll run right by the guy. He's trying to look too pretty, that's what I always tell him. He's trying to look too pretty. The funny thing is in a couple years, or next year, or hopefully this next game, he's going to realize, 'I'm so dynamic all I got to do is give a head nod and I'm gone because I'm so quick.'" 8 9