Anderson played college football as a linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1991. As a senior in 1991, he won the Butkus Award as the best collegiate linebacker in the country, was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten Conference and was selected as a first-team All-American. He is the only player in Michigan Wolverines football history to lead the team in tackles for four consecutive years, and his 390 tackles at Michigan ranks third in school history.