I have to admit that Justin Anderson falling into the Kiante Tripp black hole was the first thought I had when I heard that Anderson was moving from the offensive line to defense.

Look at it this way: Anderson was at one point a starter on the offensive line. The same attributes that make him a good candidate to anchor the defensive line at the nose position served him as an offensive lineman. Depth on the offensive line might make a move like this possible, but he’d have to be a sure thing on defense to cost the team a possible upperclassman starter or key reserve along the offensive line. And let’s be honest about that depth: we’re talking about guys like Sturdivant whose return from multiple knee injuries would be considered a “luxury” by the coaches as well as underclassmen with much less experience than Anderson, a rising redshirt junior.

The staff have already invested several years in Anderson’s development on offense, and now, thanks to an injury that has held him out of spring practice, he’ll be behind the curve and far down the depth chart when he begins working with the defense this summer. There’s the possibility that Anderson could be called back to offense if injuries strike the OL (that never happens, right?), and any hedging there would only slow his development on defense with the clock ticking on his eligibility.

The talk about Anderson throughout his career never cast doubt on his physical gifts but rather questioned his ability to grasp the blocking schemes and assignments. If that’s the case, this move makes sense but not necessarily in a very positive way. It’s possible that the coaches contemplated the 3-4 and saw a perfect candidate to play the nose position on the other side of the ball. It’s also possible that the coaches saw the move as a chance to find a more suitable position for someone who just wasn’t getting it at his current position. I’m certain that the nose position is more involved than someone just trying to get a push and occupy a Cody-like space, but I also suspect it’s less complex than the assignments and techniques one has to master to be an effective offensive lineman.

We certainly hope that Anderson thrives on defense and that circumstances on offense don’t require moving him back and forth. Working in Anderson’s favor is the relative lack of candidates to anchor the three-man defensive front. Kwame Geathers is the only full-time nose with several other candidates with DeAngelo Tyson cross-training at both nose and end. Anderson does give the Bulldogs three guys with the physical attributes needed for the nose position.