Raiders land speedy ATH

The Middle Tennessee football team won in more ways than one Saturday night.

While the Blue Raiders were taking care of business on the field during their 55-0 drubbing of Alabama A&M, the watchful eyes of Bob Jones High (AL) athlete Brad Anderson were in the stands.

As GoMiddle.com subscribers have known for weeks, Anderson had become a primary target for Middle Tennessee offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.

Those who checked out GoMiddle.com's "Film Focus" analysis on Anderson know exactly why Franklin and the rest of the coaching staff were all in on the 5-foot-8, 170-pound jack of all trades.

Those efforts came to fruition Saturday, as Anderson committed to the Blue Raiders immediately following the game. He took to Twitter Sunday morning to make his official announcement.

In Anderson, the Blue Raiders have acquired yet another lightning bolt that they can plug into multiple positions. While Anderson is now primarily a running back at Bob Jones, he has spent the bulk of his high school years running routes out of the slot receiver position.

Anderson's straight line speed is on an elite level, but given his stature, he's more of a complete package than people give him credit for, and has the type of footwork that has drawn high praise from his coaching staff.

Anderson is also incredibly shifty and not one to shy away from traffic.

While the Blue Raiders were the victors in this race, they weren't the only ones who were taking notice of Anderson. To date, Anderson held offers from 10 programs, including Army, Navy, Air Force, Arkansas State and a slew of FCS programs.

After the start to his senior season, however, it's likely that many other schools will attempt to get in the mix and sway Anderson away from the Blue Raiders.

In his season opener, Anderson made AHSAA history when he became the first player in Alabama high school history to notch two separate 99-yard touchdown runs in the same game. He finished the night with 310 yards rushing and three TDs on just 17 carries - nearly equaling his entire 2015 rushing totals in the process.

That kind of production is astounding, and given he's fairly new to the backfield, it makes Anderson's accomplishment all the more impressive.

While it remains to be seen where exactly Anderson will line up for the Blue Raiders when he gets to Murfreesboro, it's one of those good problems to have if you're Middle Tennessee.

As 2016 has already shown us, you can never have too many versatile athletes at your disposal, and for Middle Tennessee, they've gone ahead and stocked the cupboard once more.

For more on Brad Anderson, including an in-depth Q&A session, keep it locked here to GoMiddle.com!