Miami Offers Mineola’s Austin + Riley Anderson

Mineola twin offensive linemen Austin and Riley Anderson received a special treat on National Siblings Day, and it came in the form of their 23rd Division I FBS scholarship opportunity.

The brothers Anderson picked up offers from Miami, the 2016 prospects announced via Twitter early Friday evening. The 23 offers, all coming since Feb. 3, are the second-most among East Texas recruits in the incoming senior class.

They trail only Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones, who currently holds 38 offers. Austin Anderson (6-4, 289) and Riley Anderson (6-5, 287), along with Jones, are the only East Texas prospects with invitations from the Coral Gables, Fla., school.

Miami, once recognized among the nation's elite college football programs, has fallen on hard times of late. The Hurricanes have not won more than 10 games in a season since 2003 and have lost five consecutive bowl games.

For nearly two decades, few programs grabbed the spotlight like "The U." Miami won four national championships for three different head coaches from 1983-1991, and after an NCAA-sanctioned period in the mid 1990's, found itself back on top of the mountain with its fifth national title in 2001. Some call that collection of players that greatest college football team ever assembled.

From 1995-2008, Miami set a record by having at least one player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft for 14 consecutive years. And at one point from 2002-11, at least one former Hurricanes player scored a touchdown in the NFL for 149 straight weeks.

Miami went 6-7 overall and 3-5 in ACC play last season under coach Al Golden, who will be entering his fifth season with the Hurricanes.

The Anderson twins were key components to a historic Mineola season a year ago. The Yellowjackets went 12-4 and reached the school’s first-ever state championship game, a 70-40 loss to Cameron Yoe in the Class 3A Division I final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Dec. 18.

Running behind a solid line anchored by the Andersons, a predominantly young backfield amassed 4,465 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns in 16 games. Mineola’s top two rushers — quarterback Jeremiah Crawford and running back Chantz Perkins will each return for their junior seasons this fall.

With several other key pieces coming back, Mineola will carry similar expectations into 2015. The ‘Jackets compete in District 8-3A Division I, along with Harmony, Jefferson, Quitman, Sabine, and White Oak.

The Andersons, like all 2016 college football prospects, will become eligible to sign with any program that offers them on Feb. 3, 2016.

2016 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers