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M.J. Anderson
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6’3’’
Weight: 270
Hometown: Saint Louis, MO
247 Sports Composite Rating: .8618
Power 5 Scholarship Offers: Arkansas, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, and TCU
Spring Enrollee: No
Scouting Report
Anderson is certainly a unique combination of size, strength, and speed, which allows for some creativity in how he’ll be utilized on the defensive line. As an edge rusher, his gifts are abundantly clear from watching his highlights. He is explosive off the line of scrimmage, sets the edge to force the play inside, and possesses elite closing speed to get to the ball carrier. It’s a cliche, but “high motor” is the term you’ll hear a lot when talking about Anderson.
Potential Impact
The Gophers are in desperate need of an effective edge rusher not named Carter Coughlin, who could be moving back to linebacker for his senior season. That leaves redshirt senior Winston DeLattiboudere, senior Tai’yon Devers, and redshirt sophomore Esezi Otomewo as the most experienced defensive ends next season, none of whom have exactly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with up to this point. That leaves the door for open a redshirt or true freshman defensive end to step up, but I’m looking more to Alex Reigelsperger, Mayan Ahanotu, and Abi Okonji, as opposed to the two true freshman defensive ends in this class.