Robert Anae started his coaching career in a small Idaho town 30 years ago

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Aaron Roderick first walked into Robert Anae’s office at Ricks College nearly 30 years ago. Anae looked the 5-foot-9, 170-pound receiver up and down, unimpressed.

From there, Roderick worked to prove Anae wrong, earning All-American honors at the junior college in Rexburg, Idaho, and setting several school records. Eventually, he gained Anae’s respect. The coach fought for Brigham Young University to offer Roderick a scholarship, where he played three seasons before becoming a graduate assistant. Last year, BYU named Roderick offensive coordinator.

“He was the reason that I got the scholarship,” Roderick said. “I don’t know if any of that would have happened if not for coach Anae.”

Anae’s been offensive coordinator at Virginia, BYU and now Syracuse, which travels for a marquee matchup against No. 5 Clemson on Saturday. But it started with his first full-time job at Ricks, which became BYU-Idaho in 2001, where Anae served as an offensive line coach from 1992-95 and offensive coordinator in his final season.

Traits of Anae’s coaching style — the tough yet compassionate way he treats players, the technique teacher, the independent thinker who adapts to the personnel around him — all blossomed at Ricks. Other coaches emulate the strategies he used back then, and offensive linemen who played for Anae said the technique he taught them persisted throughout their careers collegiately and in the NFL.

“He understood the game like nobody else,” said Ron Haun, Ricks’ then-head coach. “You could just tell this guy was going to be a great coach.”

From 1982-2002, Haun led the Vikings, routinely sending players to Division-I and NFL teams. Haun hired Anae in 1992 after he completed his two-year stint as a BYU graduate assistant. Haun had a close relationship with then-BYU head coach LaVell Edwards, recruiting similar players including many Polynesians like Anae. Both schools were also affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Haun, looking to replace his offensive line coach, talked to Edwards, who said Anae was a future coaching star. Ricks coaches were also required to teach part-time, and the school had an opening for a sociology teacher. Anae holds a master’s degree in sociology.

Anae was an advanced coach when he arrived at Ricks despite only four seasons of experience, Haun said. Anae played under longtime BYU assistant Roger French and knew technique, defensive fronts, blocking schemes and pass protection well, former Ricks assistant E.J. Caffaro said.

“He was far advanced, he could have coached on any major college team at that point,” Haun said. “It wasn’t a go-through and have to learn for Robert. Robert was ready.”

Courtesy of Ron Haun

Anae’s intensity stood out. Skill players sat back and laughed as Anae was tough on his players, former Ricks quarterback Daren Wilkinson said. Defensive players liked Anae more than offensive ones since they didn’t work with him, former defensive end Ed Lamb said.

While sitting in the press box during the 1995 Real Dairy Bowl, Anae got frustrated with his players, slammed his headset and walked out. Haun came on the headset, asking where Anae was. Defensive line coach Rick Dixon replied Anae wanted to see the players. Anae ran down the stadium stairs toward the offensive linemen. They looked at one another, thinking “someone’s going to die,” former Ricks offensive tackle Edwin Mulitalo recalled. Anae got in their faces, conveyed his message and walked right back up.

“Talk about a guy that got in your face when it was time to get in your face,” said former Ricks tackle Jose Portilla. “We needed to get this job done. But that was Coach.”

Anae had a soft side off the field. He invited players to his house, cooking coolers full of teriyaki chicken, Dixon said. He played the ukulele, fitting with the Polynesian players who sang and strung their way through 15-hour bus trips from Rexburg to southern Arizona.

“He’s like a grandpa, I really like it,” Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said. “I’ve never seen a guy be so elegant with words, and yet maybe telling you that you’re not really good at your job. But doing it in such a nice way that you’re not bad. And then you want to come back and work for him.”

Anae’s Polynesian connection at Ricks resembles what he has now with some of Syracuse’s offensive lineman. Kalan Ellis said Anae uses slang only Hawaiians know — “raj” instead of “roger that” — and Samoan words like sole (meaning “bro” in English) or uso (“brother”), giving a sense of home.

Players and coaches said Ricks was a good fit for Anae. It was similar to BYU, but in a smaller town with players who were overlooked or couldn’t qualify academically for D-I programs.

Despite being a top junior college program, Ricks players felt the struggle of playing at a lower level. Mulitalo said players tried to become friends with the local McDonald’s employees to get leftover food. Portilla recalled grabbing extra potatoes along fence lines if local farmers hadn’t collected them.

But Anae “loved it” in Rexburg, Dixon said. He became an avid fisherman and went on adventures with coaches that sometimes resulted in capsized boats and 3:30 a.m. returns to shore. Once, he went to a restaurant called Big Jud’s and ordered a three-pound hamburger, eating it slice by slice like he was “cutting away at a defense.” After Ricks arrived in Arizona for a game, Anae freed his mind with a run in 110-degree heat.

On the field, Anae obsessed over teaching technique. Many of Ricks’ offensive linemen didn’t know pass protection when they arrived, but Anae’s time playing in BYU’s pass-heavy offense helped them. If linemen couldn’t get it, Anae taught them as long as he needed to.

“The amount of error that he allowed you to be acceptable with was minuscule,” Mulitalo said.

Mulitalo credits Anae for building his foundation as an offensive lineman. Mulitalo originally thought he would play defensive line, but Anae said if Mulitalo wanted to play football for a long time, he should play offensive line. Mulitalo obliged.

Anae taught him his stance, how to time his punches and how to be a knee bender instead of a hip-bender. He instructed linemen to go under ropes, once bringing out a PVC pipe to ensure they stayed under them. Linemen conducted their kick and power steps, hand-to-hand combat and speed work with Anae.

Portilla and Mulitalo said they carried Anae’s lessons through their entire careers. Mulitalo said he was highly recruited out of Ricks because of Anae. After two years at Arizona, Mulitalo played 10 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl.

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“A lot of coaches are smart, but they can’t teach it to the players. But he had that gift. He was a teacher, he was an educator,” Haun said of Anae.

As Anae developed, he got more involved in designing schemes. Anae and Caffaro collaborated on game plans and scouting reports. Haun eventually promoted Anae to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 1995. He learned Ricks’ pass-heavy West Coast offense, which was still being introduced to the college game. It was similar to BYU’s: getting the ball to players out in space quickly, with running backs and tight ends as passing threats.

Haun said there were complicated elements for the offensive line, especially for players who worked in run-heavy attacks in high school. So Anae frequently sat in on meetings to understand the pass game even when he was just coaching the offensive line.

Eventually, onlookers viewed Anae as an expert, and his reputation grew. Haun said as schools embraced the West Coast look, coaches from major programs asked Anae questions about the offense.

Anae’s work proved successful. Wilkinson said he only got sacked five times over his two-year career at Ricks. Over Anae’s four seasons, the Vikings compiled a 40-4 record, routinely ranking in the top five nationally in scoring, rushing yards and passing yards.

Anae left in 1996 to become the offensive line coach at Boise State, learned the Air Raid under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and earned his first D-I offensive coordinator gig in 2005 with BYU. Haun said he still sees similarities in Anae’s current Syracuse offense to what they ran at Ricks.

Lamb, now the assistant head coach at BYU, recalled playing Anae’s Virginia offense last season. He said preparing for Anae’s offense is like game-planning the triple option — it’s unlike what other college teams run. Anae made several early personnel adjustments Lamb had never seen before, putting three or four tight ends on the field, sometimes without running backs. The Cavaliers scored 49 points on 9.2 yards per play.

Anae’s impact still resonates 30 years after his time at Ricks College, though the school no longer has a football program and many of his former colleagues are retired. He has orchestrated a stunning turnaround for an offense that ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference the past two seasons, with quarterback, receiver and offensive line play all significantly improved.

But it’s not surprising for the many who recalled those formative years in Rexburg.

“I figured he would be doing that someday,” Caffaro said.