Anae grew up in Laie, Hawaii and attended Kahuku High & Intermediate School, where he was a member of the basketball, football, and track teams. As a senior, he contributed to the school earning a 13-0 record and winning the Division 1 state title. He received All-state and second-team All-USA Hawaii honors. Rated a three-star recruit, Anae committed to play college football at the University of Utah over offers from Vanderbilt and BYU. He followed his older sister Adora, who was a volleyball scholar athlete at the school.
College career
Anae played in six games for Utah as a true freshmandefensive end backup, recording four tackles and two sacks. He started 9 games at right defensive end and one at defensive tackle for the Utes during his sophomore year, registering 39 total tackles,3 forced fumbles, with a team-leading 7.0 sacks and tying for the team lead with 10.0 tackles for loss. As a junior, he started all 14 games. He led the Pac-12 Conference with 8.0 sacks and finished third in the conference with 15.5 tackles for loss along with 51 total tackles, three passes broken up, 2 forced fumbles and was named first-team All-Pac-12. He considered entering the 2019 NFL Draft, but ultimately decided to return for his senior season. As a senior, he started all 14 games at left defensive end and was part of a stout defensive unit, that saw 6 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Anae was named preseason first team All-Pac-12 and to the Bednarik Award watchlist going into his senior year. He tied the Utah career sack record with 29.5 after posting 1.5 sacks against Colorado on November 30, 2019. Anae broke the career sack record in the 2019 Alamo Bowl, the final game of his career, with a half sack against the University of Texas. Anae finished his senior season with 14 starts, 41 tackles, 13.0 sacks, 14.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, while being named first-team All-Pac-12, consensus All-American selection, received the Morris Trophy as the best defensive lineman in the Pac-12 and was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award. He also participated in the 2020 Senior Bowl, where he had 3 sacks and received defensive MVP honors. He finished his college career with 38 starts out of 47 games, 30 sacks, 210 sack yards, 41.5 tackles for loss, 245 tackle for loss yards and 6 forced fumbles.
