Since the day of his hiring at A-State was announced in December 2013, Head Football Coach Blake Anderson has brought national attention to the university’s football program.

In December 2013, Blake Anderson, star of T.V.’s “Workaholics” tweeted about the new head coach, as they share a name. Even though the comedian only got around a thousand retweets, this was the start of something new at A-State.

The Blake Anderson the A-State community knows is not a comedian, but rather a person with extensive experience in football.

Hailing from Hubbard, Texas, Anderson was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at both the University of North Carolina and Southern Mississippi. During his time there, he led the two programs to 34 wins, three bowl game appearances and two conference titles.

Anderson also has worked at New Mexico, Middle Tennessee State University and Trinity Valley Community College. His experience is something Red Wolves fans are now familiar with since he stayed longer than a year.

He has led A-State’s team to two back-to-back bowl-game appearances in post-season the last two years. The team lost both of them.

During his time there, Anderson has had the team grow both offensively and defensively. It’s part of his campaign to ‘build a monster.’ He said the campaign is a process and they are nowhere done with it.

“I think the first step this year was getting on top of the league and being able to win the league,” he said. “We didn’t get that done a year ago and so it’s hard to think about moving any further beyond that if we can’t handle our own backyard.”

Coach Anderson said the team almost proved to be a worthy opponent opponent for Southeastern Conference teams, like the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

The Mizzou Tigers traveled to Jonesboro to face off with the

Red Wolves in September 2015 and there was a time fans thought the home team would win. That’s because A-State was so well polished, it maintained the lead until the third quarter. Even though the home team lost, it was only by a touchdown and the final score was 27-20.

“We were in a position to have that signature win. With Fredi (Knighten) going down with the injury we just weren’t prepared to hold on to that, our lead, and it got away from us,” he said.

A coach, who has a whole wall in his office dedicated to pictures of friends, family, teammates and community members, has come across some memorable moments on and off the field. On the field, Coach Anderson said one of his favorite moments was the Red Wolves’ 2014 overtime win against Utah State.

“(It) was incredible, just the emotion,” he said. “How our guys just stick to it and find a way to win. I still remember jumping six feet off the ground celebrating. That was probably the first big win for our team, our family.”

Off the field, it’s another game the team is playing, the game of life. He said he’s proud how his team, or as he called it family, has pulled through despite any obstacle they face.

“It’s what happens that other people don’t see. It’s guys changing their lives, guys coming to Christ, guys making better decisions, just growing up and really overcoming adversity, things you wouldn’t see if you weren’t in the ‘family.’ Those are the things that really matter to me.”

Recalling these memorable moments, the question of his commitment to stay at A-State came up. He credited that decision to many factors, including to

God.

“We’re happy here, we can win here, the town has been supportive and the great administration that I work for,” Coach Anderson said. “Man, I’m not motivated to leave unless it’s something that’s the right place. When God picks me up and moves me we’ll move. Whether that’s tomorrow or 20 years from now. I just don’t think of it that way.”

He then talked about A-State fans and said with the teams they are facing up against this fall, he wants them to be ready and attend as many games as they can. Some of the worthy opponents are Toledo, to whom A-State lost twice to last year, Utah State and Auburn, where former A-State head football coach Guz Malzahn now coaches.

“I don’t think the town realizes how much of a support it is to pat these guys in the back and showing up early,” he said. “With that being said we we want to raise the bar even higher. We want the place to be packed and overflowing with people every Saturday. We want to be a place where folks don’t want to come play you here. The crazy loud college atmosphere. That’s what college football is meant to be.”

For those fans who are wondering if the team is going to be ready to win all of those games, Coach Anderson wants to reassure them that they are going to start off 2016 the right way.

“We’ve got a chance to be a really good football team. We’ve got some new guys stepping up but they’re really talented. They’ve got high expectations so we want people to be a part of it,” he said.

The first team they’ll face is Toledo Saturday, Sept. 3, at Centennial Bank Stadium.