Cal Football: NFL in his Past, C.J. Anderson is Carving a Path to Mentor Young Men
C.J. Anderson understands the concept of giving back. It’s his ultimate goal.
Anderson, who played two seasons at Cal before an unexpectedly successful career as a running back in the NFL, says he was able to achieve his dreams thanks to others who helped boost him.
High on that list is Ron Gould, who was associate head coach and run game coordinator at Cal when Anderson played, and now works at Stanford. And John Beam, his coach at Laney College. Anderson appreciates the help he got from all his mentors.
Undrafted in 2013, Anderson became a 1,000-yard rusher, a Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl champion.
Now 29, Anderson is beginning his first season as a coach, serving as a volunteer offensive quality-control assistant for his alma mater.
“As far as football, I’m not really worried about it at all. I learned from a lot of good coaches and a lot of great players,” Anderson said of his credentials to coach the sport.
“In the coaching world, to be honest, I would love to run my own program one day.”
It’s the reason why he wants to have his own team that gets to the heart of the matter.
“Having those mentors that I had in my life . . . put me in position for life after football, even though I had dreams to go to the NFL,” Anderson said. “That’s kind of something I want to do. That needs to be the most important thing, developing the young men into men.
“It’s just trying to develop and get these kids to understand that there’s more than football. We want to give them football, give them an opportunity to reach some of the success and the highs that I personally had.”
Anderson firmly believes that college football is an opportunity that can lead to success in areas outside athletics.
“We always hear the first-round picks, the second-round picks, whether they’re from Alabama or Ohio State or Cal or wherever,” he said. “What you don’t hear about is . . . the guy who did not want to go to play in the National Football League, like Chris Adcock, who’s a doctor now in Texas. He was an O-lineman for us.
“Those are just as good of success stories as the NFL success stories. That’s probably the ultimate goal for me.”
Anderson, who retired from the NFL before this season began, said he had lots of opportunities to coach, including other college jobs and high school positions.
But he took the unpaid Cal assignment because he wants to contribute to his alma mater and because he believes he can learn a lot about the profession from coach Justin Wilcox and his staff.
As a volunteer assistant, Anderson is not allowed on the field to actually coach players, but he can participate in meetings and talk with players off the field.
“With the opportunity here, the ultimate goal is how to connect, how to help to kids, how to help kids when they’re going through certain things,” he said.
When the day comes that he’s ready to accept a head-coaching position, Anderson said it could be at a Power 5 school or an NAIA program, or anything in between.
“It could be Laney College,” he said.
In the video below, Anderson talks about Cal running back Marcel Dancy, who followed his path from Laney College to Berkeley.
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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