He accepted a scholarship from Penn State University. As a freshman, he was a third-string running back. He sat out his sophomore season as a medical redshirt. The next year, he struggled in the first seven games while splitting time with Gerry Collins, until the last four games when he registered 599 yards and 7 touchdowns. He registered 779 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns, while also being third on the team in receiving, with 21 receptions for 255 yards and one touchdown. Anderson entered his junior season with Joe Paterno mentioning him as probably the most powerful of all the tailbacks he had coached. He posted 900 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns. He declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season. While with the Nittany Lions, he had 363 carries for 1,756 rushing yards with 29 touchdowns and 37 receptions for 353 receiving yards with 2 touchdowns. At the time he ranked 8th on the Penn State career rushing list.
Professional career
New York Jets
Anderson was selected in the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. In 2000, he was named as the American Football Conference starting fullback in the Pro Bowl, when he led the running backs in the league with a career-high 88 receptions for 853 yards and 2 touchdowns. The next year the offense changed and his numbers dropped to 40 receptions. He left the team with 305 receptions, which was a franchise record for running backs.
On March 4, 2003, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, reuniting him with his former Jets head coachBill Parcells. He registered career-highs with 70 carries and 306 rushing yards, while leading the team in receptions, even though he was a fullback. He also lined up at running back, tight end, wide receiver and on special teams. Though his play on the field was notable, it was his attitude, character and leadership that was also valuable to the team, earning him a team captain denomination. In 2004, he suffered a bone bruise in the season opener, which forced him to miss a game. In the tenth game against the Baltimore Ravens, he suffered a herniated disc neck injury, missing two games before being placed on the injured reserve list on December 28. He was waived on April 28, 2005, because of his injury. A couple of his main highlights with the Cowboys, occurred when he threw a left-handed touchdown pass to Terry Glenn in a 2004 game against the Washington Redskins, and when he leaped 5 feet in the air over former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent. He officially retired after the 2005 season by signing a one-day contract with the New York Jets, the team that drafted him. He appeared in 161 games, rushed 318 times for 1,274 yards with 4 rushing touchdowns and caught 400 passes for 3,149 yards with 14 reception touchdowns.
