When lineman Peter Anderson arrived on the UGA campus for the start of fall camp in 1981, the Georgia staff was unsure what to think of the freshman from Northern New Jersey, even uncertain what position he would play considering, according to Vince Dooley, he lacked “great skills…big bulk…and speed.” Nevertheless, initially starting at guard, then primarily center, but also seeing time at tackle, Anderson eventually discovered his place—or places is more like it—in the Bulldog lineup, prompting the Georgia head coach to distinguish his “Bell Cow” as having “a heart of an All-American…and quickness” while being a “fighter…competitor…and leader.”
“Peter Anderson is playing as good or better than any offensive lineman we’ve had at Georgia,” Dooley said early in the 1985 season.
During a career which featured twice earning first-team All-SEC honors (1984 and 1985), while remaining the only Georgia player in history to be recognized as a consensus All-American at center, Anderson especially excelled when facing arguably the Bulldogs’ chief rival of the time, Clemson. In a 26-23 upset over the Tigers in 1984, he was named the AP’s Southeastern Lineman of the Week, spearheading a strong Georgia ground game against what seemingly was an impenetrable defense while playing center, guard, and tackle (yes, all in the same game). A year later, Anderson pounced on a teammate’s fumble in the Clemson end zone, scoring a touchdown while providing the winning margin in a 20-13 victory. Soon after his unconventional score, he was bestowed the unprecedented honor of being named a permanent team captain by Dooley in the middle of a season.
I recently caught up with Peter from Jacksonville, Fla., where he has resided for the last 25 years:
PG: First off, I discovered that there have been roughly 10 different players from the state of New Jersey in the last 50-60 years to appear on a UGA football roster. Any idea why four of the 10 or so, including yourself (along with Jim Auer, Ken Chanley, and Danny Greene), were specifically part of the 1981 signing class?
PA: There’s certainly people with better knowledge of this than I have—but, from my understanding, after Georgia won the national championship in 1980, the thought process was if the program was going to continue to compete for national titles going forward, recruits from throughout the country had to be signed. Besides from New Jersey, a few guys from California were also signed in 1981. So, apparently, there was a concerted effort with that particular class to get kids from a broader spectrum.
PG: You being from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, my guess is you were unfamiliar with the UGA football program growing up?
PA: Yes, I really don’t remember watching Georgia games back then, or any SEC team for that matter. While being recruited, Georgia didn’t pop up on my radar—and, I sure didn’t pop up on their radar—until after my senior season. I certainly wasn’t the most highly recruited guy in the world, but a few teams recruited me, including Georgia. The Bulldogs had just won the national championship, the program had tradition, had Coach Dooley, Herschel Walker had just played as a freshman… And when I first visited Athens, I had never seen anything quite like it—like Sanford Stadium, which had just expanded with the closing of its end near the railroad tracks. Georgia was just on a different level than the programs considering me from the Northeast, like the Syracuses and the Rutgers.
PG: Speaking of, Rutgers is less than an hour from your hometown. Was there any thought of attending the state school?
PA: I had actually committed to go to Rutgers. The idea of staying in New Jersey, playing in my home state, had a lot of appeal to me. Oddly, when Georgia started to contact me, it just so happened that my “little heart” had recently been broken by a high school romance. So, the prospect of taking a recruiting trip down to Athens, Georgia, at that particular time was also appealing to me. Rutgers is definitely a fine institution, but once I saw what UGA and its football program had to offer, there was no question where I was going.
PG: Do you recall your recruiting visit to Georgia?
PA: Yes, I attended a basketball game after Georgia just had won the national championship in football. I guess I was thinking I was kind of special as a recruit. I crossed the court after the game thinking I was pretty cool before running into Jeff Harper (starting left tackle as a senior on the ’80 title team). Jeff had this jet-black hair and a severe look, and here I was just a senior in high school—a man, a boy. Jokingly, but with the straightest face, Jeff said to me, “You know, we don’t much like Yankees down here!” I went on to have a great weekend, and Jeff and I became friends, but I did think to myself at the time, oh, shoot, maybe Georgia is the wrong place for me. Regardless, when you bring a group of 18-year-olds together on a college campus, they’ll certainly have their differences but, all in all, they’re knuckle-headed kids who are pretty much the same at the core.
PG: After playing sparingly in 1981, and being redshirted in ’82, you started to see time at various spots along the offensive line, right?
PA: After Wayne McDuffie, who had been my position coach my freshman year, went to the Atlanta Falcons, Alex Gibbs came in 1982. Coach Gibbs implemented more of a rotating offensive line when all the linemen were healthy, where seven or eight of us rotated through multiple positions. In 1983, I rotated through right guard-left guard-center before senior Warren Gray, our starting right guard, was injured. I took over Warren’s starting spot before he returned towards the end of the year, and we began to rotate linemen again to keep everyone fresh. In 1984, I was going to start at a guard spot until center Keith Johnson could only play here and there because of injuries, so I primarily played center. And, in 1985, it was more of the same—it looked like Keith would be healthy but, again, because of injuries, it unfortunately didn’t work out for him.
PG: To a side, I believe if it wasn’t for those nagging back injuries, Keith Johnson would have been a star at Georgia, and in the NFL, as well. As you know, Keith passed away only four-five years ago.
PA: Yes, very unfortunate. When Keith arrived in ’82, he not only was noticeably a special athlete, but a really special person. He had it all—a great kid with off-the-charts athletic ability. Whereas today, offensive tackle is considered such an important position, Coach Dooley always believed the center needed to be a primary—if not, the main—strength of his offensive line. Keith was a natural for that, but he wound up enduring some injuries during a few seasons. He kept reinjuring his back, taking him out of action. Keith was massive for back then—his hand engulfed mine whenever we shook hands—yet he was a fluid, graceful athlete who was very special.
PG: Considered somewhat of a concern entering the 1985 season, the offensive line wound up being one of the best at Georgia in recent memory with you starting at center, Mack Burroughs and Kim Stephens at the guards, and Wilbur Strozier and Victor Perry the tackles. What sticks out to you about your final season as a Bulldog player?
PA: A senior season always sticks out in the mind. There was no question I had talented linemen around me that year. Still, I’ve always felt that I was very lucky for the cast of linemen around me the entire time I played, and that was with four position coaches in five years (McDuffie 1981, Gibbs 1982-83, Eddie Williamson 1984, and Joe Hollis 1985). But, each was a really good coach, and I was blessed to have all of them coach me. Of course, the backfield we blocked for in ’85 was awesome and made all of us look good. We had some good games when I was a senior. The one up in Clemson was a special [20-13] win, as was the game down in Jacksonville when we beat Florida soundly [24-3] the first time the Gators had been ranked No. 1 in their history.
PG: Describe the touchdown you scored at Clemson in 1985, when you jumped on a Keith Henderson fumble in the end zone.
PA: I’d maybe like to say something dramatic—like I athletically scrambled for the fumble, tore the ball away from a couple of Clemson defenders, and secured it for a touchdown. But, no, it was just one of those things where I fortunately saw the ball in my peripheral vision, and it was just lying there for me to go after. My biggest competition for the ball wasn’t a Clemson player but Troy Sadowski, our tight end. I was able to wrestle the ball away from Troy (laughing).
VIDEO (Anderson’s score at Clemson marked the third of only five times in UGA football’s modern era—or since the end of WWII—a Bulldog offensive lineman scored a “rushing” touchdown):
PG: Given to you prior to your junior season, how were you nicknamed “Bell Cow”?
PA: That spring, we went through practice with, I believe, only six healthy offensive linemen. So, we all got a lot of snaps, and had no choice but to stay healthy. I was experienced, had been vocal, and was probably a little more “worldly” with what was going on with the program, so Coach Dooley gave me that nickname in speaking with somebody in the media. I know my teammates liked it. They liked to call me “Bell Cow,” and in fun other derivatives from the nickname.
PG: Since Coach Dooley had always named captains for each game, and then permanent captains at the end of the year, I recall it being a big deal when he named you permanent captain only about a month into your final season. Do you remember exactly when he made that decision?
PA: I do. We all came in for a team meeting when Coach Dooley asked me to leave the meeting room. Now, I had always enjoyed my time at the University of Georgia, and honestly didn’t know if my “enjoyment” had caught up to me—like maybe the team was meeting about me, and it was not a positive thing. I didn’t know what the meeting could be about, but there were plenty of candidates of what it could have been from five years being on campus. But, when I came back in, Coach Dooley announced to me what he had put forth to the team (electing Anderson permanent captain)—and said the team agreed with what he proposed. That’s a special honor and a day I’ll never forget.
PG: Peter, you went from being a moderately recruited Rutgers commit from New Jersey to one of the greatest offensive linemen ever at a major program located 800-900 miles from home. Did you ever imagine as much?
PA: No, especially after I first showed up on campus, and started to practice with the upperclassmen leading up to the ’81 season. At the time, there was no question that I had a lot to learn about playing the game of football. I had some great coaches while in high school, but we played eight-game schedules and didn’t practice in the spring. So, looking back, I was so fortunate to be redshirted my second year at UGA and to go through two spring practices—that’s when it really clicked for me—before I saw significant playing time. But, honestly, no, I didn’t imagine
PG: Inducted just a couple of years ago, how honored were you to join UGA’s Circle of Honor as one of only a few offensive linemen to be elected?
PA: I’m just so humbled to be a part of Georgia’s Circle of Honor. I look at my teammates, and I was not a Guy McIntyre (’83 All-American offensive tackle), who overwhelmed opposing players, or a Wilbur Strozier or Keith Johnson, very special athletes. I was coached up well, knowing where I had to be, and knowing the techniques of things, so I could take care of my assignments and grade out pretty well. Therefore, I was able to have some success without being the most dominant player on the field. The greatest gift given to me was the ability to learn under some of the best coaches in America, play with some of the nation’s best players, and be part of a very special football program.
PG: Since a brief one-year stint in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts after college, what have you been doing professionally?
PA: So, I stumbled into the commercial real estate business after that, and still work in the same industry. I work for a company based out of Atlanta, Pattillo Industrial Real Estate. We develop industrial parks—manufacturing plants and distribution centers—for some of the top companies in the world. I’ve lived down here in Jacksonville, Florida, for 25 years.
PG: Please tell me about your family.
PA: My wife, Shawn, who I met at UGA, and I have been married for 32 years. Our son, Pete Jr., attended college at Sewanee. We also have three daughters. Tory went to South Carolina, Hailey attended the University of North Florida, and our youngest, Susannah, played soccer at Elon and graduates in just a couple of months. They’re all huge Dawg fans.
PG: Living in Jacksonville for so long has it been a challenge for you to stay connected with the UGA football program?
PA: Well, I mostly stay in touch with guys from my class, and about half the state comes down [to Jacksonville] for the Georgia-Florida game every year. I’ve been to many bowl games, and I always try to make it to at least one home game per year. Of course, three of my four kids participated in sports through college, so that kept us pretty busy. But, you know, with my youngest daughter graduating, all of the sudden my slate is clean! So, I hope I have a few good years left, and really hope to engage more deeply in the program than ever.
PG: And now seems to be the perfect time to engage deeply in Georgia football…
PA: If I could say, you have to love the work ethic demonstrated by the program, and its success on the recruiting trail. To me, I equate it to some of the things I do in business development. You don’t do business with some of the top companies in the world without hard work because everybody else also wants to do business with them, just like you don’t secure commitments from the best recruits without hard work because everybody else wants those recruits. So, clearly Coach [Kirby] Smart and his staff understand what needs to be done to secure them—and, then, you have to coach them up to deliver desirable results. It is an exciting time… But, no matter what, I’m so proud to be a Bulldog and proud of the University of Georgia.
