Football: Clutch performer

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, December 18, 2012

NEW ORLEANS — It was mere minutes before the 2011 New Orleans Bowl between UL and San Diego State was about to get under way, and something for Devon Lewis-Buchanan went terribly wrong.

A buzz could be sensed in the Superdome as word of what had happened spread, and the feeling wasn’t a good one for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

UL’s then-senior linebacker — their No. 3 tackler in the regular season — dislocated a kneecap during pregame warmups, ending his college career before he had a chance join even one play in UL’s first postseason game since 1970.

Cajun coaches scrambled to devise a backup plan, and soon — not long before kickoff — head coach Mark Hudspeth found himself staring face-to-face with Justin Anderson.

The then-sophomore had only eight tackles at the time, had played in only eight of 12 games, had started just one — in place of the injured Le’Marcus Gibson in UL’s regular season-ending loss at Arizona.

He wasn’t scheduled to start in the New Orleans, but that changed when Lewis-Buchanan had his mishap.

"When I saw D-Lew go down, and I saw the extent of his injury, my heart went straight to my throat," Hudspeth said. "But we called Justin over, and said, ‘Hey, man, this is your opportunity.’ "

Anderson made the most of it, getting in on five tackles — all of them solo stops — and making quite a convincing case that he should start full-time in 2012.

The junior from Foley High in Foley, Ala., has done just that and now — heading into a repeat New Orleans Bowl appearance, this one coming Saturday morning in the Superdome against East Carolina — Anderson is UL’s leading tackler this season with 101.

"He had an opportunity, and stepped up, and showed us what type of player he is," Hudspeth said. "From that point on, I think his confidence level has grown.

"He’s worked awfully hard. "» I’ve just been very proud of him — and he’ll continue to improve."

Anderson suggests the secret to his success is a matter of mere repetition.

"Just trying to be consistent," he said.

"Doing the same things all week during the practices, doing the drills, doing everything right, practicing hard — and you get the same results on Saturday.

"It’s got to be preparation," Anderson, evidently not one prone to boast said as deliberately as can be. "Just watching film, and practicing."

Surely there must be more to it than that, right?

If there is, Anderson is not letting on. At least not willingly.

"Instinct? I don’t know," he said. "I guess that has a little bit to do with it. But I feel it’s preparation."

There indeed is more to it, and Hudspeth is the first to attest that to that.

"He’s an instinctive football player," the Cajun coach said. "That’s the thing I can tell about Justin Anderson.

"Some players have speed. They have size. Strength. They just look like a Greek god. But they don’t make tackles. They don’t make plays.

"Justin Anderson has got that instinctive football sense to him," Hudspeth added. "He’s just got a nose for the football. Makes a lot of tackles. Makes a lot of plays. Most of the time he’s in the right position, and that’s what allows him to make so many plays."

Early on his first season as head coach of the Cajuns, however, Hudspeth, who did not recruit Anderson to UL, wasn’t exactly convinced.

It took watching what he in did in UL’s 32-20 New Orleans Bowl win over San Diego State to help change his mind.

"Up to that point, and Justin will tell you," Hudspeth said, "I always felt like Justin was a guy that sort of cruised."

Looks, however, can sometimes be oh-so-deceiving.

Such seems to be the case for Anderson, who in 2012 alone has had eight tackles-for-loss including two sacks, a pick-six returned 38 yards in a win over Tulane, a forced fumble in a win over Lamar and a fumble recovery in a win over Florida Atlantic.

"It’s the way he runs," Hudspeth said. "He sort of glides. He plays a lot faster than it looks like he’s playing.

"And once I realized what type of player he was, and put him on the field, he showed me that he can make a lot of plays.

"I’m a big Justin Anderson fan," the Cajun coach added. "I’ve just been really proud of the way he’s come and developed nicely as a player."

Yet, hard as it may be to believe, it’s possible none of that would have happened had Lewis-Buchanan not taken one bad step in New Orleans.

"That was huge for me, honestly," Anderson said of his bowl performance. "That was a huge game for me.

"I hadn’t really had a good game like that since high school, maybe — really an impact performance. It was a huge confidence-builder for me going into the offseason, and I feel like it carried over pretty well."