Anderson, Who Led U-M in Tackles and to Big Ten Championships, Enters Hall of Honor
11/13/2019 11:23:00 AM | Football, Features
A defensive stalwart on the gridiron, an All-America linebacker and only Butkus Award winner in program history, Erick Anderson will be inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor during a Friday (Nov. 15) ceremony along with Hal Downes (ice hockey), John Fisher (wrestling), Lara Hooiveld (women's swimming & diving), Ron Simpkins (football), Stacey Thomas (women's basketball) and Nick Willis (men's track & field, cross country).
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Erick Anderson was a trailblazer as an All-America linebacker at the University of Michigan.
He became and remains the lone Wolverine to lead the team in tackles all four years, and was selected as the program's first and only Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker in 1991.
Michigan won the Big Ten championship in each of his four playing seasons. And when it came time to run down the tunnel at Michigan Stadium for the last time, Anderson "didn't want it to end" for himself or classmates. He spoke with co-captain Greg Skrepenak, the All-America offensive tackle, and had an idea.
"Traditionally we all run out and touch the (M Club) banner," said Anderson. "Skrep and I said, 'We're not running.' We, the seniors, led the group out and we walked out. Then, we jumped up and touched the banner because we did not want it to end. We wanted to drag that out as long as we could.
"And that's the way we went out, I was walking hand-in-hand with Skrep and (Matt) Elliott and (Dave) Ritter and (Eric) Bush, and all those guys. And we came out of the tunnel, taking it all in."
Anderson (third from left) and his senior teammates walk hand-in-hand toward the M Club banner for their final time as Wolverines.
The Wolverines beat Ohio State that day, 31-3, in a game best remembered for Desmond Howard doing the Heisman pose after his 93-yard punt return touchdown.
Anderson made a career-high 17 tackles and recovered a fumble in that rout of the Buckeyes, and always came up big in the biggest games. He had 57 tackles in four games (14.25 average) against OSU and 32 tackles in three Rose Bowls (10.7 average).
He ranks third in career tackles with 428, trailing only Jarrett Irons (429) and Ron Simpkins (516), the latter of whom also is being inducted Friday (Nov. 15) into the Michigan Hall of Honor.
"It means a lot to me," said Anderson. "It's an amazing honor, a great honor.
"When I was a player, I never thought about it. But as you get older, I would think about it once in a while. But, playing for Bo (Schembechler), that left me conflicted. It was never about individual accomplishments. And so then I got reflective and said, 'I shouldn't even be thinking about this.'"
The lessons from his legendary coach impacted Anderson when he played for Schembechler in 1988 and 1989 before Gary Moeller became head coach in 1990.
"The greatest impact he had on me helped shape me into who I am," said Anderson. "It was his approach to recruiting and coaching. When he came to my house, during a time when there were things teams got away with that were illegal, I had programs coming in making offers. Not just scholarship offers, but, 'Hey, what's it going to take for you to come to our school? You name your price. Anything's on the table.'
"And when Bo came to recruit me, he said the scholarship offer is on the table. He said, 'Erick, I'm going to make you one promise. I'm going to offer you a fair opportunity to compete to play.' That had the greatest impact on me, just giving me an opportunity to do my best. That recipe for success Bo had never, never loses its impact. If you get a team to dedicate themselves to one another and selflessness, then you have a winning program. And Bo also said that the individual honors will come from teams that play that way and win the Big Ten."
Anderson was the Associated Press Big Ten Co-Defensive MVP along with Wisconsin cornerback Troy Vincent as a senior, when he won so many honors.
"The one thing that meant the most to me was being named team captain," Anderson said. "I'd hoped for All-American and didn't know what to expect, but my biggest thing was being named team captain by my teammates.
"Coming from the era I came from, playing for Bo, Gary Moeller and (then defensive coordinator) Lloyd Carr, we were selfless. I was very fortunate I got playing time early, and circumstances served me where there were a couple of injuries and so I got to start my redshirt freshman year.
"And, fortunately, I was prepared. But it had more to do with the guys playing beside me and the coaches than it was me. Had J.J. Grant and John Milligan -- two excellent players who were captains before I was -- not gotten hurt, I might have been playing on only special teams. And those guys had gotten me prepared."
Milligan got healthy and ended up making the game-clinching interception in the Rose Bowl win over USC following the 1988 season.
Then, when Anderson beat Milligan out for the job in 1989, Anderson was amazed at the "selfless way" Milligan mentored and tutored him: "That was the epitome of what Bo preached to us and we've all heard it a thousand times: 'The team! The team! The team!' That wasn't just something we said; we lived it. That really solidified and validated that approach. To be voted a captain of men like that is so much more of an honor because it's from the people you truly want respect from.
"Not to take anything away from All-American or the Butkus Award -- tremendous honors. But it pales in comparison to being a captain for Michigan."
He chose his first start at Northwestern in 1988 in Dyche Stadium, where his father, Don, had played for the Wildcats, and the 22-14 Rose Bowl victory over the Trojans for Schembechler's second win in Pasadena as his two most memorable games. Anderson had a team-high 12 tackles in that win over USC on Jan. 2, 1989.
"But my most memorable moment was my junior year at Ohio State," said Anderson. "It was fourth down and probably a foot, and timeout was called. I'd never been at an outdoor stadium and literally felt the ground shaking until that moment.
"They came out and ran an option with (quarterback Greg) Frey, and Milligan and myself, we both kind of blew through and ended up getting a tackle for a loss. We ended up kicking a field goal a few plays later for the win."
Nearly every Wolverine ended up playing a role in the tackle of Frey. Ohio State coach John Cooper had decided to gamble on fourth down at his own 29-yard line with 47 seconds remaining because his team needed to win in order to gain the Rose Bowl berth. But Michigan denied Frey, took possession and won, 16-13, on a 37-yard field goal by J.D. Carlson as time expired. That outcome helped bring about a four-way tie for the conference championship that included the Wolverines.
Anderson had a knack for the big plays, and reflected on being the only Wolverine to lead the team in tackles four times.
"That is an amazing accomplishment," said Anderson. "But, again, it may seem like an individual accomplishment, but it's not. I was fortunate to play with an amazing secondary, an amazing defensive line and other amazing linebackers, have amazing coaches. A leading tackler isn't about one person, but I can still be proud of that."
Anderson was a seventh-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and also played for the Washington Redskins in a three-year NFL career.
"Being able to play on the Chiefs with Joe Montana and Marcus Allen and Derrick Thomas in 1993 was unforgettable," said Anderson, "and I got to tackle Roger Craig for a loss in a preseason game. I thought, 'Holy crap, I just tackled Roger Craig.'
"I only had one defensive start in the NFL and it was against the Chicago Bears and Jim Harbaugh. Chicago played us in Kansas City, and about five minutes before kickoff, (head coach) Marty (Schottenheimer) came over to me and said, 'Hey, kid, you need to be ready. One of our linebackers broke his hand during warmups.'
Schottenheimer told him they were moving a strong safety into start at linebacker, but Anderson recalled telling his coach he was confident he could take the spot.
"'Give me the opportunity," said Anderson, "and if I can't get it done, you have Martin (Bayless) to go to.' He said, 'All right, kid, you've got the start.' I made 10 or 11 tackles. I didn't tackle Harbs, but I had him intercepted and had the ball in my hands, and my Mike linebacker saw the same thing I did, came in, and lit me up. I dropped the ball."
Anderson is an adaptive physical education teacher in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and co-funded Friendship In Teams, which provides social skills training for youths with autism, Asperger's Syndrome and other challenges.
"All of our kids in the district, K through 12, that can't access the general physical education curriculum, I work with them one-on-one," said Anderson, "and it's small groups. I love it. They tell me, 'Well, you have to have patience.' But I love working with these kids. I enjoy it. I think it's amazing. I actually created the program about 15 years ago."
Both of his daughters were standout college athletes. Kendal was an All-Big Ten field hockey performer for Michigan State and was that team's offensive MVP. Kasidy was the captain of a top-rated Northeastern hockey team and is concluding her collegiate career with its field hockey team.
Anderson will continue teaching, but he also became a volunteer football coach at nearby Baldwin Wallace University. Jim Herrmann, his linebacker coach at Michigan who went onto become defensive coordinator of the Wolverines (1997-2005) before coaching linebackers in the NFL and now XFL, prepared him then and now for this new challenge.
"Other than my mom (Kris) and dad," said Anderson, "Michigan has been one of the most influential parts of my life from the friendships that bond, coaches that I had. The first person I called when I connected with Baldwin Wallace was Jim Herrmann, and he's been amazing, helping put me through this process."
The Wolverines are still impacting Anderson, who continues representing his alma mater and those he played with and for in the best ways possible.
