The three months of sleeping in a neck brace were hard. Having to use a scooter to get around campus for most of the first fall on campus arduous.

The green target jersey draped around Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson’s neck on Thursday was just a minor inconvenience.

“I’m ready to go,” he said Thursday afternoon.

The little bit of green mesh makes Anderson stick out on the field. It means he is not to be hit. That edict came down from the coaching staff as the Sooners began preparations for the 2017 season.

They’ve seen impressive work from Anderson over two off-seasons. The goal is to make sure he gets to the regular season unscathed.

“He has been perfect. He’s done all the conditioning, team competitions that we have; he’s been really great in them. Looks strong and powerful and looks great,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “We’ll intentionally limit him and keep a redshirt on him, or a non-contact shirt, just to get further removed from it. I believe the way (OU trainer) Scott Anderson put it, if we were going to play next week, he could play, but we figure why not get another four, five, six months further from it, just to be sure.”

For a guy whose career consists of two career games — in 2015 — Anderson’s stature within the program is immense. Limiting starters’ exposure to injury is a rite of spring. There’s no sense of risking injury to a player in April who has proven he can help win games in October.

Anderson’s on-the-field production (one rushing attempt for five yards) doesn’t warrant that kind of safekeeping. He doesn’t look like he needs it either. Anderson may have suffered two season-ending injuries, but he appears to have never missed a workout. Anderson measured at 223 pounds and 6-foot-2 earlier this week.

“Shoot, he’s a freak. How about that?,” offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. “He’s one of the most gifted guys that we have. … He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart. Every quality you’d put down for a great running back or just a great football player, he checks a lot of the boxes.”

Fans haven’t been able to see it. Even if Anderson had been healthy the previous two seasons, he still would’ve waited in the wings. Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon were going to get the bulk of the carries.

But they’re gone and the Sooners’ running back depth chart is wide open. The coaching staff and his teammates have already penciled Anderson into that top spot. They know what he can do. They also respect a guy who’s handled two straight years of season-ending injuries.

“He’s handled it well. It would be tough to say I know what he’s gone through but he sat out for two years now. He’s a heck of a guy. He’s such a great teammate and he’s a leader,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “For a guy to be a leader that hasn’t really played, it shows something about his character. It’s been tough on him, but it’s finally his time to shine and he’s worked really hard for it. He looks well. He looks like he’s ready to go.”

The broken leg Anderson suffered in the 2015 Tennessee was early enough to get a redshirt. The neck injury last August was tougher to bare. A freak hit during a preseason scrimmage didn’t seem like much.

“I got up and jogged off the field,” Anderson recalled. “I didn’t know it was hurt until the next day. The X-rays were cool. Then they told me to get an MRI the next day. That said otherwise.”

The broken bone in his neck didn’t require surgery. The corrective measure was that neck brace he had to wear for three months. That might have been more hurtful than the injury. Anderson had to learn how to sleep without the usual tosses and turns. Imagine going through the night when suddenly turning to the left or right wasn’t allowed.

All OU has to do is get him to the starting line in September. Players and coaches know what the redshirt sophomore can do. They see him as the successor to Perine and Mixon. Another big-play threat who can also batter a defense for four quarters.

“We’re thrilled about where he’s come,” Riley said. “He’s getting ready to have a big year.”