Northwestern running back Drake Anderson to transfer to Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats have landed two Northwestern transfers who just so happen to be hail from Chandler.

A few hours after safety Gunner Maldonado committed to Arizona, running back Drake Anderson, his former high school teammate, followed suit:

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound back ran for 256 yards and two touchdowns in seven games as a redshirt sophomore in 2020. In 21 career games, Anderson ran for 926 yards and five touchdowns along with 10 receptions.

Anderson was a 3-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, picking Northwestern over Illinois, Nevada and New Mexico State. He ran for more than 2,000 yards and scored 37 total TDs as a senior in 2017.

He will join a backfield that, as of now, includes sophomore Michael Wiley, redshirt junior Nathan Tilford, redshirt sophomore Bam Smith and freshmen Frank Brown Jr. and Jalen John, as well as 2021 recruits James Bohls and Stevie Rocker Jr.

Wiley is the only one who has had extensive playing time, rushing for 222 yards and three touchdowns in the condensed 2020 season.

The commitments from Anderson and Maldonado are a good start for new Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, who said the Wildcats will make a strong effort recruiting the state of Arizona as well as extracting talent from the transfer portal.

Here are some of Anderson’s high school highlights: