First, what’s the offseason been like for you?
Since the season ended – and in such an unfortunate way – my wife and I wanted to get away from football and business and connect with each other. Life gets busy – we wanted to take time off and get off the grid. We went to Thailand and spent two weeks in the jungle just deepening our connection and bonding.
Then we travelled to Nigeria – I have a development project there and my father-in-law lives there too so we visited with him. We killed two birds with one stone.
And of course every offseason is an on-season these days. So I have been training and trying to get better. The truth is at this stage you don’t continue playing if you can’t outpace the younger guys.
Did you have mentors as a younger player?
You’ll love this as a Pittsburgh guy. I got close to Kelvin Beachum – we overlapped when I was in New York. I looked up to him. In Denver I got close to Garett Bolles – we became best friends – he has a wonderful family. Those were good player-mentors.
Also – Mike Munchak – he spoke highly of his time in Pittsburgh too.
What did they all show y0u?
Mike Munchak – I learned the importance of versatility from him. My first in-season practice I had to take reps at both right and left tackle. As a young guy you have to do a lot of reps on the scout team. I was lined up opposite Von Miller – seeing him was like being in a video game. I learned then how quickly guys get off the ball.
I also learned the importance of being ambidextrous as a tackle. You have to be intentional developing your skills on both sides. Certain parts of your body are stronger on one side versus the other and you end up developing tendencies that can get exposed if you don’t work on that.
In Denver my first season I was inactive every game – it served pretty much as a redshirt season. Every week I would think to myself “Is this the week I get activated? Do they like me?” But I learned my craft that way.
How about Kelvin and Garrett?
Kelvin and Garrett – they gave me different perspectives of the NFL. Kelvin and I had the same offensive line coach in college – Ronnie Vinklarek – he was the one who offered me a scholarship as a 210 pound tackle. He saw something in me – we joke it must have been the feet!
Kelvin prepared as he played. He took care of his body and took recovery seriously. I learned when I got to the NFL that the NFL is a business. In college and even high school I loved that the NFL was a team sport. While it’s less true in Pittsburgh, in the NFL there’s more focus on individual progression – you lose that team glue aspect of the game. Garett – he took me in though and tried to teach me everything he could. He was the loudest cheerleader when he got hurt. It’s rare to find that in a sport where you compete against each other for a roster spot.
Why did you decide to sign with the Steelers last season and re-up this season?
Pittsburgh is a unique place. The city is built on relationships – you realize how important relationships are in this city. It’s like where I came from in Texas.
The team culture is also one of one. There’s no other like this one. It’s relationship-focused – you don’t go through the Steelers without knowing the players, coaches and the Rooneys. I like that – it aligns with how my wife and I try to be – our values. They prioritize relationships and purpose. You become a lot more connected that way to the goal of winning games and a Super Bowl and to having a serious impact on the community.
I’m fascinated by your love for Rubik’s Cube and math- how did that get started and how did you become a Rubik’s brand ambassador?
My math interest started when I was very young – around six or so years old. My dad identified that I had a knack for numbers – something I really appreciate now as it really helps with critical thinking and problem-solving. I liked that you can answer any question – you just had to find out how to get there. The answer is always somewhere.
My love for the Rubik’s Cube started in middle school. I had a friend who taught me how to solve it the basic way. I stuck with it and tried to find faster ways to do it. I did research on how others did it faster and progressed to remembering algorithms. But there’s a cap to that too.
I was preparing for Rice. We all had to do something for the Freshman talent show and they all knew I could do the Rubik’s Cube fast. I wanted to find a way to do it faster though. My grandad is where I get my math background from – he still does Soduku every day. We were chatting and he talked about looking at the cube as numbers instead of colors. Each face has nine colors, and there are six faces. If you were to unwrap it and lay it down flat you could see how it was similar to Soduko. In the end it was about keeping track of the numbers and probability. That was the basic premise that helped me to do it faster, and that ended up leading me to be the first athlete brand ambassador for the Rubik’s Cube!
How has your math acumen helped you as a player, do you think?
It helped me keep my mind focused. I’d work on the cube in the locker room. I’m an over-thinker and it helps me to relax.
Math in general – that’s helped me as it’s similar to the Xs and Os of the game – understanding how and when defenses shift and what they are trying to do. I use those problem-solving skills from math to help study defenses.
You’ve played for a few teams so far in your career. Is it hard to adjust to different coaching styles from offensive line coaches, going from team to team? How does Pat Meyer’s approach work for you?
That’s a good question. Different offenses require different offensive line prototypes and different coaches have different ways of coaching. Pat Meyer has a good way of mixing together the teaching of newer guys with less experience who will defer to his approach with how he works with the older guys. He’s good at adjusting to their experience. I told Pat that – that he did a really good job at looking at a player and identifying how they were taught in the past and what they do well so that he can help them improve. It’s not about getting a finished result – it’s about progression. Not many coaches feel that way.
Was it sad seeing Daniel Moore leave – and that open up opportunities for you though?
I have a lot of respect for Dan. The NFL is tough – they drafted back-to-back first round tackles but he took his development seriously every day. He was unfazed. I was happy to see him string together some good games last season. I’m a big Dan Moore fan and sent him a message congratulating him when he signed.
It does open up opportunities for me, yes. Putting myself aside though, the truth is they have two really talented offensive tackles in Troy and Broderick. I know Troy well as we have the same agent – I’m hoping to get to know Broderick better this year.
Both are special and I’m excited to be a part of their development competitively, and through mentoring and leadership.
What else should we know about you that is not football related – I know you have an incredibly accomplished partner/wife as well in Dutch/Nigerian model, lawyer and real estate investor Sherée Olaiya Lanihun.
She changed my life – she’s a special person and we can talk about her and all of that for a whole second interview! We did start a 5013c foundation called the Lanihun-Anderson Foundation focused on financial literacy. In America this had become so important – as we become more advanced technologically, it’s important that kids at a young age get the financial knowledge they need to be their own money makers. The most important thing they need is knowledge – you can get easily distracted as you get older.
We focus on marginalized areas and equip them with that knowledge.
Lastly, any good memories stand out most to you so far of your time in Pittsburgh?
I was just so impressed with the array of really good restaurants overlooking the city. The views are beautiful. I’ve had a bunch of good experiences here – there are so many good people here that have stayed in the city. It’s a really good sign when the people from here stay here!