The dude is so intense it looks as if he is going to bite through his mouthpiece.

He nestles the football between his lumpy biceps and soft hands with the same fierceness. And then he races through the line of scrimmage like hell, leaving a streak of Purple and White and linebackers befuddled.

Damien Anderson is the best college football player you don't know. But you will.

The Northwestern tailback leads the Big Ten in rushing with 1,050 yards — already. He has rolled into the end zone 13 times. And Anderson carries his team for about 181 yards per game.

But away from the gridiron, Anderson keeps a low profile. The 21-year-old, 5-foot-11, 210-pound robust running back is a modest man with an even more modest background.

Anderson is a blue-collar individual. He is as blue collar as football players come. The Wilmington, Ill., native hails from one of the smallest high schools in the state. But that never stopped Anderson's mammoth aspirations.

He was determined to do whatever it took for his small high school to become a state powerhouse.

Anderson's high school coach Jeff Reents wanted his prized pupil to improve his balance. So Anderson joined the Wilmington High School wrestling team — and was one win away from the state championship. Reents wanted Anderson to improve his strength. So Anderson dropped gallons of sweat after hours of practice in the weight room.

Anderson's efforts made the frizzy-haired man-child overcome his humble high school and hometown as a much-sought recruit. He had the world at his hand and college football coaches at his feet.

But Anderson went to Northwestern. It is a small school with an unassuming football team. It is the lone private school in the conference. And it has the smallest enrollment and the smallest stadium. But it suits Anderson well.

"He is very down to earth," Reents said. "He's very laid back."

Anderson has been raised with a work ethic that maintains his humility. His father, Scheree, and mother, Ramone, taught Anderson to live a disciplined life like the one they lead.

Scheree was an auto mechanic who went back to school and now represents a union and negotiates collective bargaining agreements. Ramone was a teacher who worked her way up to a superintendent.

As a boy, Anderson studied his parental figures like he now studies film. From his parents' example, Anderson learned something that remains close to his heart today.

"I saw that hard work pays off," he says.

It has been hard work that has made Anderson one of the top rushers in collegiate football. After earning accolades as a prep star, Anderson had aspirations to emerge in Northwestern as the next Darnell Autry.

But then-coach Gary Barnett did something that put Anderson in check and made Anderson into the unassuming player he is today: Anderson redshirted his freshman season.

That was tougher for Anderson to face than an encounter with LaVar Arrington. See, Anderson loves football. He loves the game like he loves his mother.

He loves the atmosphere. He loves the camaraderie with teammates. He loves knowing he is making his family proud. And with one coach's decision, all that was taken away.

"He's very competitive," Reents said. "It was very humbling for him. That was hard. But it made him the player he is today."

Anderson learned the value of patience. Not just the patience he must demonstrate to find the hole created by the offensive line, but that he must wait for his time. From his redshirting and scout team experience, Anderson grew an even greater appreciation of football. It was Anderson's parents who helped their son persevere through the tough times during his freshman season and provided encouragement to keep working hard.

From that experience, Anderson continued to have the same dedication he demonstrated during his high school career. And it gave Anderson a new driving force in his life. Anything he would do — he would do it for his family.

"I knew that anything I wanted to do and put my mind to, I could achieve it," Anderson said. "I feel like I can be more successful at college football. At this aspect in my life, I have two years left, and I plan on continuing my career to the NFL and things like that.

"My parents, they were definitely an instrumental part of my life. They supported me in everything I did. And they told me whatever I did, do it at 110 percent. Go out there and lay everything on the line because only good things come out of working hard. I always just adopted that mentality."

Anderson calls his parents his "boosters." They come to Ryan Field for all of their son's home games. And most of the road contests, too.

In return, Anderson leaves Evanston whenever his life as an athlete permits. And he calls home almost every night.

"They are always there," Anderson said. "They are there in everything I do. I always want to keep them involved. I never want them to feel like they are never involved in my life. Whatever I do, they are going to do."

Anderson needs his parents in his life. Sure, he might be a mature football player who knows where to find the hole and make smart decisions in the gridiron trenches, But he is still just 21.

That might be most evident by his smile — where it reveals that he is still not ready to be independent, despite his status as the next great bruising Big Ten tailback. See, Anderson wears braces. He has worn them since his freshman year.

Anderson's teammates ridicule his metallic smile. They threaten to knock out his not-so perfect pearly white teeth in practice. And then Anderson makes them pay as he cruises in the secondary and rushes upfield with his 4.4 40-meter dash sprint time.

After all, Terrell Davis wore braces with the Denver Broncos. And so did Curtis Enis when he was a Penn State running back. Anderson might be the next great tailback with a metallic smile.

"It's cool," Anderson says with a smile that reveals his orthodontic work. "Everybody asks me, 'Damn, how long have you had your braces on?' "

There is not much Anderson can do about the braces. But he maintains the same tolerance that he had to endure as the redshirt junior climbed the depth chart through his underclassmen years at Northwestern.

As a redshirt freshman, Anderson garnered 537 yards in 164 rushing attempts. And then last year, he burst onto the college football scene like he shoots from the backfield, almost eradicating the humble lifestyle he has struggled to maintain.

In 306 attempts, Anderson garnered 1,665 yards on the ground. That was fourth in the conference and 25th in the nation. This season, Anderson wanted to build on that success and continue to pay homage to his family with even greater production.

Anderson has done that. His 1,050 yards have done more than put Anderson as the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week for the past two weeks.

With Anderson at the tailback spot, Northwestern has become the buzz of college football with a 5-1 overall mark and a 3-0 record in the nation's toughest conference. And those three victories were not against creampuffs, but it helped the Wildcats overcome Wisconsin, Michigan State and Indiana.

"He is from Day One a guy that I have put a lot of my attention with," second-year Wildcats coach Randy Walker said. "He has been our go-to-guy. He has been since I got the job mostly because of the work ethic and the intensity that he displays.

"There is a lot of guys who can run a ball. They have great vision and instinct and all that. But when you put some intangibles into place like work ethic, and commitment and goals and heart and drive, he's got all the right stuff."

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