Senior standout eyes big things for rising Vineland

Nihym Anderson can rush the passer like nobody's business.

He can block and catch and run over and away from would-be tacklers.

He just can't see the future.

So when Anderson was in eighth grade, he had no vision for the remarkable resurgence of the Vineland High School football program.

"I didn't even want to come here and play," Anderson said. "When I got to my last year [of youth football], I was like, 'I don't want to go to Vineland, that's not a good team.'"

Anderson changed his mind after conversations with Vineland coach Dan Russo.

And together with fellow senior star Isaih Pacheco and several other standout players, Anderson has changed the perception of Vineland football, too.

"At this point, we feel like the only people that can beat us is ourselves," Anderson said of Vineland, which is projected to start the season ranked among the top five teams in South Jersey.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Anderson has developed into one of South Jersey's top players during  his career at Vineland.

In that sense, he has followed the same path as the program — taking some early lumps, rising to prominence last season, setting his sights on bigger and better things in 2017.

"He has to be one of the best athletes we've ever had here," Russo said. "He's so strong and fast. He's versatile. He can play a lot of different positions and help you in a lot of different ways."

Anderson was a standout tight end as Vineland went 8-2 last season. He averaged 24.3 yards per catch with eight touchdown receptions. He is projected to see some time at running back this season, replacing the graduated Deivon Seymore as the Clan's featured ballcarrier.

But Anderson is best known for his work on defense. He had 13 sacks last season, and was such a physical force in an early November battle with top-ranked St. Augustine that then-Hermits coach Mark Reardon said that no player on North Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic was comparable to Vineland's outside linebacker.

"They don't have anybody like '8,'" Reardon said referring to Anderson by his jersey number.

Russo said Anderson is a natural blitzer who excels at turning the corner and closing on quarterbacks.

"I love to hit," Anderson said. "It's hit or be hit in this sport."

Anderson has committed to Maryland on a football scholarship. He was recruited by several top college programs such as Pitt, Syracuse, Minnesota, and Temple among others.

"After you go to a lot of schools, one just feels like home," Anderson said. "Maryland just felt like home. As soon as I walked in the door, I was like, 'This is where I need to be.' "

Anderson admits that he didn't feel that way about Vineland as an eighth grader. The Clan were 2-8 that season, Russo's first.

"I had a talk with Coach, he got me here and we just turned it around," Anderson said. "That was key, keeping Vineland guys in Vineland."

It has been a struggle to turn around the program. Vineland went 3-7 in Anderson's freshman season, then 3-7 again when injuries decimated the roster in his sophomore season.

"I knew we knew we had to get better, but we didn't know what was going to happen," Anderson said. "It feels real good because we worked so hard to do it and because of what we came from. We came from 2-7, 3-7, and here we are. It's a blessing."

Vineland broke through last season and Anderson and Pacheco led the way. Both were all-South Jersey selections and both have committed to Big Ten college programs as Pacheco is a Rutgers recruit.

"Now we go see the young guys down in the youth program and this is where they want to go," Anderson said. "We go down there and they said, 'I want to be like you.' "

Anderson believes Vineland is poised to take the next step.

"We want to leave a legacy," Anderson said. "We want to make history. We're doing stuff that Vineland hasn't done in a long time, but now now we've got to take it all the way."