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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Brotherly Love
9/25/2007 | Football
By Chris Purser
Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant
For most students, it helps to find someone that can show you the ropes when you first arrive on campus. For Ole Miss senior Robert Hough, it helps when your older brothers are athletes in their own right.
When Hough arrived as a freshman in the fall of 2003, his oldest brother, Tobias Anderson, had already been through the pitfalls of being a freshman at Ole Miss. It was with his advice that Robert was able to make the adjustment from high school to college.
Tobias was a member of the Rebel track and field team from 1998-2001.
"Tobias was the first of us to come here," Hough said. "He told us the right way to approach college life."
Hough says that Tobias was the first member of his family to attend college. It was his experiences and downfalls that provided an example for the others to follow.
"He was always telling us to buckle down," Hough said. "He felt like he didn't apply himself as much as he would have liked."
While that advice to take things a little more serious may sound like the older brother teaching the younger one a life lesson, it was the advice of his other brother that helped Robert learn the little things about Ole Miss.
"My other brother Charlie taught me a lot of little things, like when to get your books so you would have them," Hough said.
And Charlie should know. A four-year letterwinner at defensive end for the Rebels, Charlie Anderson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. And he is still there today. It was his help and example that Robert followed to learn about the life of an Ole Miss football player.
"One of the things they told me was to take care of your business early," Hough said. "So that is what I did. I set a goal to graduate in four years."
And that is what Robert did, earning his degree in Criminal Justice this past spring.
"They both told me to get your education first then you can do other things," Hough said. "Charlie showed me the work ethic that it took to get to the next level."
The brotherly love that existed off the field translated to helpful pointers on the field. Charlie's senior season was Robert's true freshman season. There was always a little brotherly competition on the field.
"The year that we were together, I had to block him everyday since I play tight end and he was a defensive end," Hough said. "I felt like I had to go hard all the time just to compete against him. When he was here, I saw him working all the time."
And it was that kind of leadership instilled by his brothers that has made Hough the man he is today.
