2003 Football Roster
Roster
R.J. Anderson
- Position:
- Quarterback
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 228
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Plainville, CT
- High School:
- Milford Academy
Career Biography (PDF Format)
At SU: Four letters ... Finished his SU career ranked fourth on the career passing yards list with 4,698; fifth on the career completions list with 358; fourth on the career pass attempts list with 679; and sixth on the career passing touchdowns list with 21 ... His .527 career completion percentage is the sixth-best in SU history, and his 114.3 passing efficiency ranks eighth all-time ... He became the fifth quarterback in school history to record 350 career completions, 4,500 career yards and 20 career touchdown passes (Marvin Graves, 563-8,466-48; Donovan McNabb, 548-8,389-77; Don McPherson, 367-5,812-46; Troy Nunes, 362-4,578-32) ... His career total of 5,347 total yards of offense ranks fifth on the all-time list ... Made the travel squad for all 12 games, but redshirted in 2000.
Senior Year (2003): Started all 12 games ... He is the first quarterback to start every game of the season since Donovan McNabb started every game in 1998 ... One of 13 players to start all 12 games ... Set the SU single-season records with 186 completions and 178 consecutive attempts without being intercepted (West Virginia 2002 through Pittsburgh 2003) ... Received Syracuse’s Coach Mac Award, presented for intensity, focus, effort and attitude ... Ranks sixth on SU’s single-season total offense list with 2,426 yards ... He ranks fifth on the single-season list for passing yards with 2,164 ... Completed 60.0 percent of his passes, the eighth-best single-season accuracy race ever ... Finished fourth in the BIG EAST with an average of 180.3 passing yards per game, and third with 202.2 yards of total offense per game ... Ranked sixth in the league with a passing efficiency of 124.1 ... Completed 20-of-33 passes for 288 yards and a career-high three touchdowns at North Carolina ... Rushed 10 times for 13 yards against the Tar Heels ... In home-opener against Louisville, completed 19-of-30 passes for 229 yards and rushed nine times for 36 yards, including a 12-yard run ... Completed 13-of-20 passes for 133 yards against Central Florida ... Rushed seven times for 35 yards, including an 18-yard run, and one touchdown against the Golden Knights ... Versus Toledo, completed 17-of-23 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown ... Rushed five times for 24 yards, including a 14-yard run, and one touchdown against the Rockets ... Completed 8-of-23 passes for 91 yards and rushed six times for 24 yards, including a 17-yard run, at Virginia Tech ... Named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after he tied his career high with three touchdown passes and completed 20-of-27 passes for 215 yards against Boston College ... Rushed 12 times for a career-high 81 yards, including a season-long 20-yard run, and another touchdown against the Eagles ... Completed 7-of-18 passes for 49 yards at Pittsburgh ... Threw his first two interceptions of the season after setting the school record with 178 consecutive attempts without being intercepted ... Rushed 16 times for 34 yards, including a 12-yard run, and one touchdown against the Panthers ... Completed 16-of-20 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown against Temple ... Added another touchdown on the ground and finished with 39 rushing yards on 14 attempts against the Owls ... Completed 12-of-21 passes for 85 yards and rushed four times at Miami ... Completed a career-high 23-of-36 attempts for a personal-best 336 yards and two scores, including a season-long 75-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Morant, against West Virginia ... Rushed eight times for 31 yards against the Mountaineers ... Completed 14-of-32 passes for 161 yards, including one 37-yard pass, at Rutgers ... Against Notre Dame, completed 17-of-27 passes for 209 yards, including one 44-yard pass.
Junior Year (2002): Started seven of the nine games he played ... Completed 8-of-24 passes for 128 yards and rushed 11 times for nine yards at BYU ... Completed 4-of-11 passes for 71 yards and rushed 12 times for 13 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina ... Completed 13-of-18 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns for his second career 300-yard passing game against Rhode Island ... Completed a career long pass of 87 yards to Jamel Riddle, which tied for the third-longest pass play in SU history against URI ... At Auburn completed 5-of-18 passes for 67 yards and rushed four times 19 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter due to injury ... Completed 3-of-10 passes for 11 yards and rushed two times for seven yards before leaving the game in the second quarter due to injury against Pittsburgh ... Completed 18-of-34 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns at Temple ... The 18 completions and 34 pass attempts against the Owls were both career-highs ... Rushed 11 times for 62 yards, including a career-best 20-yard run, at Temple ... At West Virginia completed 6-of-17 passes for 71 yards before leaving the game in the second half due to injury ... Did not play against Rutgers ... At Central Florida entered the game in the fourth quarter and rushed three times for four yards ... Did not play against Virginia Tech and at Boston College ... Against Miami entered the game late in the fourth quarter for an injured Troy Nunes and completed one pass for six yards.
Sophomore Year (2001): Played in all 13 games, starting eight ... One of 35 to participate in every game ... Completed 5-of-14 passes for 113 yards and one touchdown in the Insight.com Bowl ... Completed a 52-yard pass to Johnnie Morant for the game's final touchdown ... The pass play was the seventh longest in Syracuse bowl history Named BIG EAST ... Offensive Player of the Week after his performance versus Boston College when he totaled 305 all-purpose yards (completed 15-of-20 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown and had 11 carries for 58 yards and touchdown) ... Passed for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns ... Became the first SU quarterback to pass for 300 yards in one game since Donovan McNabb in the 1998 season when he threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns versus Temple ... Rushed for 245 yards and five touchdowns on 111 rushing attempts ... Led the team to an 8 game winning streak during the season ... Against Tennessee completed a 74-yard touchdown pass for SU's only touchdown of the game ... Against Central Florida relieved starter Troy Nunes at the start of the second half and completed 2-of-4 passes for 38 yards and led the offense to two second half scoring drives ... Completed 6-of-15 passes for 74 yards and rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries against Auburn ... At Rutgers completed 7-of-17 passes for 100 yards, including the game winning touchdown pass to James Mungro, and rushed 10 times for 55 yards ... Completed 3-of-8 passes for 62 yards at Pittsburgh ... Rushed for 63 yards on 21 carries and threw for 53 yards at Virginia Tech ... Versus West Virginia completed 10-of-18 passes for 86 yards ... At Miami threw for 66 yards on 9-of-18 passing attempts.
Freshman Year (2000): Played in nine games, starting four ... Earned first career start at West Virginia ... Completed 18-of-33 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns ... Orchestrated a 13-play, 84-yard game-winning drive at West Virginia ... Carried the ball 14 times for 64 yards and one touchdown against the Mountaineers ... Also had one reception for three yards, on a broken play pass from Dee Brown ... Completed 6-of-13 passes for 86 yards and ran for a touchdown against Rutgers ... Completed 4-of-14 passes for 62 yards at Temple ... Completed 11-of-25 passes for 83 yards against Miami ... Played in the season opener against Buffalo, completing the only pass he threw for 57 yards ... Completed 2-of-4 passes for 21 yards at East Carolina.
Milford Academy (CT): Played at Milford Academy for Coach Jeff Bevino ... Helped the Falcons to an 8-5 overall record in 1999 ... Threw for 580 yards and six touchdowns in two games at quarterback ... Played the majority of the season at outside linebacker and tight end.
Plainville High School: Prep Star All-Regional selection ... Two-time All-Northwest Conference ... Four-year starter and three-year team MVP ... Career statistics include 3,140 passing yards and 45 touchdowns ... Team captain as a senior ... Led team to Northwest Conference Championship as a senior ... All-Northwest Conference and two-time team MVP in basketball and All-State in baseball ... Played in the Connecticut/ Massachusetts All-Star baseball game at Fenway Park as a senior ... Plainville High School Athlete of the Year as a senior ... Member of SADD ... Recruited by former SU assistant coach Steve Addazio.
Personal: Robin Demetrius Anderson Jr. ... Born May 2, 1980, in Bristol, Conn. ... Son of Robin and Deborah Anderson ... Two brothers ... Father played football for Connecticut from 1975-79 ... Majoring in sociology.
Anderson's Career Statistics
| Passing | |||||||
| Games | Comp-Att | Pct. | Yds. | TD | Int. | Long | |
| 2000 |
9 |
42-91 |
.462 |
512 |
2 |
5 |
57 |
| 2001 |
12 |
72-144 |
.500 |
1,123 |
5 |
2 |
74 |
| 2002 |
9 |
58/134 |
.433 |
899 |
4 |
8 |
87 |
| 2003 |
12 |
186/310 |
.600 |
2,164 |
10 |
8 |
75 |
| Totals |
42 |
358/679 |
.527 |
4,698 |
21 |
23 |
|
| Rushing | ||||||||
| Game | Carries | Yards | Avg. | TDs | Yds/Game | Points | Long | |
| 2000 |
9 |
59 |
34 |
0.6 |
8 |
3.8 |
12 |
15 |
| 2001 |
12 |
111 |
245 |
2.2 |
5 |
20.4 |
30 |
19 |
| 2002 |
9 |
53 |
108 |
2.0 |
1 |
12.0 |
6 |
20 |
| 2003 |
12 |
99 |
262 |
2.6 |
5 |
21.8 |
30 |
31 |
| Totals |
42 |
322 |
649 |
2.0 |
13 |
15.5 |
78 |
31 |
Anderson's Career Bests
Passing
Yards 336 vs. West Virginia, 2003
Attempts 36 vs. West Virginia, 2003
Completions 23 vs. West Virginia, 2003
Longest 87 vs. Rhode Island, 2002
Touchdowns 3 Three times, most recent vs. Boston College, 2003
Rushing
Yards 73 vs. Boston College, 2002
Carries 21, most recent vs. Virginia Tech, 2001
Longest 31 vs. West Virginia 2003
Touchdowns 1, 13 times, most recent vs. Temple, 2003
Tackles 2 vs. Auburn, 2002
