This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dres Anderson felt just dandy when he dashed down the sidelines to celebrate Utah's game-winning drive against USC, while thousands in attendance rushed the field belting out "Utah Man."
It wasn't until the next day that he began to sense something was amiss with his knee.
That was 170 days ago.
Tuesday, Anderson returned to the spotlight with little more than the occasional "All right, Dres!" from teammate Kenneth Scott to interrupt the reverent silence at the Eccles Football Center.
"It's like a golf tournament in here," said his mom, Lolita, as nervous as anybody.
So quiet you could hear him breathe as he made his cuts. So quiet that, when he met with personnel at the conclusion of his individual workout, you could hear his relief.
Before 14 scouts and Ravens wideouts coach Bobby Engram, Anderson ran the 40-yard dash between 4.35 and 4.43 seconds (or so scouts told him), he broad-jumped 10 feet, 1 inch, and he did not drop a single pass thrown from former BYU signal-caller Christian Stewart.
He admitted it was tough watching his team play the final seven games of his senior season from the sideline and then hoping to show his abilities first at the Senior Bowl, then the NFL Combine, then Utah's Pro Day.
"There's been times that I felt like I could play again, but dealing with the knee, you don't want to rush it," Anderson said. "I just wanted to make sure I was 100 percent before I really got back into things."
Tuesday, at least, he gave the impression that he is.
A 4.35 40 would have tied Georgia's Chris Conley and West Virginia's Kevin White for the third-fastest time by a wide receiver at February's NFL Combine in Indianapolis. His 10-foot-1 broad jump would have been tied for 16th, matching Stanford's Ty Montgomery, among others.
Anderson caught 134 passes for 2,077 yards and 17 touchdowns during his U. career, and served as a captain and Pac-12 Media Days representative in 2014.
He said his agent, Kenny Zuckerman, told him he is a likely third- or fourth-round selection.
Anderson also gave a hat tip to Stewart, whom he'd never met previously, joking, "I'm happy he didn't try to sabotage me."
Stewart responded to an invite and an offer to buy gas and lunch from Utah director of player personnel Fred Whittingham Jr.
His triceps are now a little sore after throwing throughout BYU's spring camp and at Utah State's pro day, too.
"Definitely kind of looking forward to a month or so off," said Stewart, who will take the GMAT in May, marry in June, and move to San Francisco in July to work for an investment bank.
The former Snow College quarterback said he once sent his film to Utah State and Utah. He even used to play flag football at the Eccles Field House and attend Utah games.
"It's kind of cool to be able to go throw at their pro days and show them what they missed out on, in a sense. Because I would have loved to have played here. But, obviously, I'm happy with how things played out in my career."
Twitter: @matthew_piper