UCF lands first commit in the Class of 2017
March 17 is UCF's lucky day.
Jacksonville (Fla.) University Christian running back Otis Anderson committed on Thursday to become the Knights' first pledge of the 2017 class. The speedster had emerged as one of the staff's top targets, landing an offer three weeks ago and taking his first visit a few days later.
He had called UCF his leader following that visit.
"It feels like I'm part of the family," Anderson said then. "After I got offered, the running backs coach (Ryan Held) hit me up on Twitter and said he just wants to stay in touch. He told me any time I'm in Orlando to come on by and hang out with him. It's just a great relationship with all the coaches. When I first pulled up, it seemed like we've known each other all my life. The conversations were just rolling off the tongue. The coaches are really tight too. Coach Frost and Coach Held actually play cornhole every day in the trophy room inside the stadium. They're all very competitive.
"They have high expectations for the program too. I know they had a losing season, but that's going to change around with Frost and his offense. Now they're accepting quicker and more agile guys. It's close to home. It's basically all you can ask for. The dorms are perfect. It's really a great place."
Splitting carries with a senior, Anderson earned All-State second team honors rushing for more than 1,000 yards and helping to lead his team to a Class 2A state championship.
"I sat and talked to the offensive coordinator (Troy Walters) for about 30 minutes about the offense and how they'll use me and why they're so excited to offer me," Anderson said in his earlier interview. "They said they really like the way I can make people miss in the open field and they like my speed. That's what they're trying to build. They have a couple recruits coming in that's really going to help the offense.
"He showed me the stats of the offense and how it will produce numbers, where it ranks against other teams. (Walters) told me he wants me to be able to play receiver, slot and running back, so when I come into the game they won't know what I'll be coming in as. They said they thought of (former Oregon star) De'Anthony Thomas when they saw my highlights."
Anderson's other offers included Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Colorado State, FAU, Georgia Southern, Illinois, Iowa State, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Northwestern, Oregon State, Southern Miss, Toledo, Troy, Virginia, Washington State and Western Michigan.
