Aug. 15, 2007

By Ann Green, The Greenville News

The 50-mile trip from Connie Maxwell Children's Home in Greenwood to Furman University can be made in an hour.

But each time freshman Kadarron Anderson makes the journey, he has a renewed appreciation for how far he has traveled, in ways that can't be measured in minutes or miles.

Nine years ago this summer, he arrived as a 9-year-old at Connie Maxwell with his year-older brother, Demarco.

"It wasn't the best situation at our home, so our grandmother decided it was best for us to go to a place where we could get a good education, then go to college," Anderson said.

In a speech that he made at a baccalaureate service at Connie Maxwell marking the high school graduation of Anderson and other Connie Maxwell seniors this past spring, he recalled being "a scared little boy" during those early days at the home.

He and Demarco were assigned to different cottages -- the houses where eight children live, take their meals in a family-like atmosphere and do their homework.

The residents attend public schools in the area.

"It was the first time we'd ever been separated. So that made adjusting even harder. I was terrified about being away from him and not having someone in my family there that I could count on. But the boys at my cottage made me feel like they had known me forever," Anderson wrote in the speech.

Nine years is a long time, but Anderson came to value his time at the home and made memories and friends he said he will treasure for life.

"They made sure you had everything you needed. It's not like Little Orphan Annie or something like that. You have good people taking care of you," he said of the Baptist-affiliated home.

He took up football in middle school.

"I was getting in some trouble, and they decided I needed something to do with my free time. They told me to try out for sports," he said.

"It gave a reason to do the right thing, a reason to be living, really, to have something to do that makes you happy," said Anderson.

Football also made him a role model to the younger kids at Connie Maxwell.

"When I started playing football, a lot of kids looked up to me. So I tried to be a positive example to them. The kids who were just arriving there, I'd try to help them adjust. It's always bad the first year, getting adjusted. Then time flies," he said.

He excelled as a free safety at Emerald High in Greenwood. He was a three-time All-Lakeland and All-Region selection and twice garnered honors on the coaches' all-state team. He had 342 tackles, 12 interceptions, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his prep career.

"I think he enjoyed basketball more than football, but he was just better at football," Demarco said.

Kadarron and Demarco eventually would live together again in the same cottage at Connie Maxwell. Demarco, who also played football at Emerald, won a football scholarship to Pikeville College.

Demarco recalled that in the time they lived together, he often felt that Kadarron was the responsible one.

"He was dependable. He was up early, waking me up. I'm the older brother, but he does things for me," Demarco said.

This summer it was Kadarron's turn to head to college. He packed his bags, enrolled in summer school at Furman and opened a new window on the future that he hopes college football will provide, thanks to his full athletic scholarship. He wants a career in engineering or accounting, he said, noting that he's good at math.

Last week after four days of preseason football camp, he felt as if he'd absorbed "a year's worth of work," Anderson said.

"He's a 210-pound kid and can really run," said Furman coach Bobby Lamb. "The way the game is going today to all the spread offenses, you basically need four safeties in the game and one linebacker instead of two safeties and three linebackers.

"He played safety and a little bit of outside linebacker in high school. But he'll be an outside linebacker for us. He's picking it up really well so far."

Anderson, who stayed with sophomores R.J. Webb and Keiron Williams while going to summer school at Furman, is comfortable as he awaits the decision on whether he'll red-shirt his freshman year.

"I've put on like 15 pounds since I've been here, so that helps a lot," he said of the move to linebacker. "It's a better fit."

While he was in summer school, he made trips back to Connie Maxwell every couple of weeks, he said, and he expects to maintain his ties to the home.

In that speech in the spring, Anderson had a message for the younger kids at Connie Maxwell.

"To all the children who are staying here, my prayer for you is that you keep your heads up. I know that things can be hard around here ... but just look at the people who made it before you," he wrote.

"No matter what you've been through, somebody's been through that. Just know that people have made it, and you can also," he added in the speech.

Some who were in the audience recall that Anderson's words prompted a lot of tears.

"Happy tears, I guess, and claps at the end," he said. "It was hard giving the speech after being there so long. I didn't think it would be hard leaving there, but it was."