When Mike Anderson reported to training camp with the Denver Broncos this summer, one of the first things he had to do was find his locker. As he wandered around, searching for his place, he spotted his name.
"I was right next to Terrell Davis," he said, referring to the all-pro running back. "When I finally got to meet him, he was real cool. I was getting in the motion to introduce myself, and he said, 'I know who you are, Mike.'"
And now the rest of football world knows, too.
Ironically, the man Anderson hoped to back up someday is now coaching him on how to do his job right now. The former Ute running back has started in Davis' place two weeks in a row.
Davis severely sprained his ankle in the team's first game, and it's unknown when he'll be back for sure. Davis' regular backup, Olandis Gary, who had an outstanding season last year after Davis injured his knee, tore the ligaments in his own knee in the same game. Gary is out for the rest of the season.
In the meantime, the Denver fans have been introduced to one of Utah's standout athletes. Anderson went to Denver a sixth-round pick hoping just to find a place on the team. With some hard work, he secured a spot on the Broncos' special teams squad.
He played the first game, enjoying being on the NFL stage but far from the star. Then Davis and Gary were injured and Anderson was thrust into a role he never expected this soon.
"I'm just enjoying the moment," he said. "It still seems so unreal."
After his first game against the Atlanta Falcons, in which he scored two touchdowns and had 131 yards, he saw his name on the giant electronic board atop Mile High Stadium. There was a message congratulating him on being the first Bronco rookie to ever rush for more than 100 yards in a game.
"That was unbelievable. I was running off the field, when they announced that," he said. "I looked up at it and thought, 'Did I do that?' "
That first game Anderson said he was so nervous he was shaking. In both games, he concentrated on each play, never wondering or worrying about yardage.
"It's overwhelming," he said of the whole experience. "I'm just taking it in stride, trying to stay humble and count my blessings. We've played our third game and I'm still healthy."
Staying healthy might not sound like much to ask, but in football, where 200- and 300-pound men are slamming into you, it's almost impossible. Anderson's first scare came like his success, a little sooner than he expected.
In the game against Oakland last week, he hit his knee in the second half so hard he had to leave the field.
"It was toward the end of the game, and I got hit just below my kneecap," he said. "More than anything, it just scared me. After a few minutes, I felt like I could go back in."
The 27-year-old ex-Marine only missed one play and ended up rushing for 187 yards in the team's 33-24 victory.
He didn't even know he was starting again until just a few hours before kickoff.
"I was more relaxed, more calm," he said. "I'd already played one game in the NFL, and all the jitters didn't come back."
Anderson never dreamed as a boy of playing in the NFL, although he watched and admired its players. It wasn't until he came to Utah that he began to believe he had a chance of playing each Sunday with the game's best.
"I thought I could at least get an opportunity," he said.
Every once in a while, he sees a famous player across the field from him and looks at him admiringly.
"I catch myself looking at other players and think, 'Hey, that's so and so,' " he said. The awe doesn't stay long anymore. "Now I'm a professional, too. They've just been doing it longer than me."
One of the men he watched and admired is Davis. Now that same man helps him get ready to play each week.
"He's been great," Anderson said. "When they came and told me I was starting, he was one of the first ones to talk about it with me, help put me at ease."
He said earlier this week he believes Davis will be back this Sunday, although he said he's ready to play whatever role he's given.
Anderson is surprised at the confidence his teammates and coaches have shown in him, and he's working hard to deserve it.
"That's a great feeling," he said, "after all the hard work you put into it . . . But there are a lot of other guys out there. I'm not doing this alone."
The self-effacing Anderson has also recently experienced what fame is like. He was getting out of his car near a park when he heard some children whispering. Then it dawned on him — they were whispering about him.
"They were saying, 'That's Mike Anderson,' " he said with a little laugh. "They came running over and said, 'Hi, Mike Anderson.' I just waved to them and spoke to them for a minute."
He has done some charity work at a Denver elementary school but said he hasn't thought about how else he'll use his new-found influence.
"I just wake up everyday and think it's unbelievable," he said. "I don't know what's down the road. I don't know what's planned for me. Right now I'm not thinking that far ahead. Right now I know I've been truly blessed."
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com