Over the weekend, Nebraska hosted a handful of official visitors including some that are already committed to the team. Offensive tackle commit Matthew Anderson from Leesville, Louisiana, was one of those visitors. He was in town with his family.
The lineman will be signing in December but arriving in Lincoln this summer. I was able to catch up with Anderson on Sunday night when he got back home to get his thoughts on the visit and his excitement for joining the program soon.
Official Visit ☝🏼 Thank you Coaches, Staff and Fans for such an amazing experience, cant wait to win some games as a cornhusker‼️ pic.twitter.com/oJjDI5R3IF
— Matthew Anderson #72 (@mateoanderson37) December 9, 2018
Here is the full Q&A with Anderson:
What were your overall thoughts of the trip from you and family?
“It was awesome. It was beyond expectations. I felt like royalty and a celebrity the entire time. It was more than I expected out of an official visit. It was crazy to think what they did for me. It was by far one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.”
What did you guys do on the visit?
“We went to a place for virtual reality golf, dodgeball and baseball. We went to the top of this tower thing to eat dinner overlooking the stadium and city. I got to talk to Coach [Greg] Austin for the longest time. We went to the basketball game which was amazing. It would take me a long time to list everything.”
What was it like seeing the basketball fans?
“It was crazy. They all had that Nebraska app so all their flashlights were in sync. They turned off the lights and it was a lightshow from the people. It was crazy. They packed that stadium too even the high-rise area. To see people standing, it was crazy. Walking around past the student section with Adrian Martinez and everyone freaking out it was awesome.”
Who was your player host?
“Will Farniok, the guard/center. It was so cool. I’m genuinely excited to be part of this team and get around these guys. They are great athletes and even better people. You can really tell that Nebraska has some of the best people on their team.”
What was it like spending more quality time with the commits?
“It was really cool. Rahmir [Johnson] was the first guy that I met that I hadn’t met yet. I saw Garrett [Nelson] on my trip there earlier this season. Let’s say Garrett, sometimes I question his sanity. He’s a crazy dude. When we were hanging out with our host, his bright idea instead of going to hang out with the bros, he wanted to go to the weight room and work out. That was his big thing, he wanted to go work out with his host. Garrett is a different person. I’m very excited for him to make me a better person and athlete. He’s definitely a leader in the weight room and on the field, I’m hoping that rubs off on me.
“Garrett has a true love and passion for the game. I have a lot of love and passion for it as well but he really lives in this game. He’s definitely a guy I want to hang around for a while.”
How was the conversation Austin and what have you talked about with position?
“I’m going to be a tackle. They are thinking about changing me to left tackle for the blindside which is a pretty cool responsibility. It was funny, any time we ate and we ate a lot, I consider myself a big eater but sitting next to Will made me look like I didn’t eat anything. He can put some food away. Being a 248-pound tackle who kind of eats whatever I want, Coach Austin was getting on me about eating. We talked about getting my weight up before I get there because the big guy always beats the little guy. I don’t want to be the little guy when I get there. Coach Austin said any time I get a chance to eat I better do it, so that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Have you guys made a plan about your nutrition?
“I talked to one of the coaches about it. He sized me up and checked my body fat percentage. I’m below the average lineman which made me feel pretty good about myself. He talked about the lean muscle mass I can put on and my ceiling which is very high which also made me feel good. He showed me the foods to be focusing on but as far as Coach Duval and Coach Austin once I sign on December 19th they will send me work out plans and information to look at film so I can learn plays too.”
What was it like following the team from Louisiana this year?
“Following the team being a Nebraska commit when the season started, I had to have a lot of faith in Coach Frost and what he is bringing to the program. It was kind of amazing to see the change in my friends. Of course, I got dogged on if Nebraska lost just cause that’s how guys are. When we came back in that Ohio State game, the people that were so mad about [me] not going SEC couldn’t even say anything because we should have won that game. To see those people eat crow for doubting Nebraska so hard and doubting Coach Frost was good. Turning a program around this big is going to take a while That he got things turned around in half a season speaks volume about where it’s going.”