Mineola’s Austin + Riley Anderson Pick Up Offers From Cincinnati

It's been an eventful 12 days for Mineola's twin tandem of 2016 offensive linemen Austin and Riley Anderson. The latest news in what has been a flurry of recruiting activity was that both picked up offers from Cincinnati, they each announced on Twitter late Saturday night.

The 'Jackets sibling duo has now collected all 11 combined Division I FBS scholarship offers since Feb. 3. Austin Anderson (6-4, 289) has six offers, compared to five for his brother Riley Anderson (6-5, 287).

The Anderson share common offers from five programs -- Cincinnati, North Texas, Texas State, Texas Tech, and Tulsa. Meanwhile, Austin Anderson has an additional offer from Northwestern.

The O-line standouts recently spoke to ETSN.fm about their recruitment earlier this week.

“It’s been awesome,” right tackle Austin Anderson said during the Yellowjackets’ athletics period Wednesday. “When we were in seventh grade, we made a goal that we wanted to play Division I football. I made that goal and I’ve worked hard ever since to accomplish it. God blessed us with great size and the ability to do it. I didn’t want to waste my talent. That particular goal has been accomplished. Now we’ve just got to keep working and keep getting better.”

The Anderson are the only two East Texas players in the 2016 class with a scholarship offer from Cincinnati. The Bearcats signed former Chapel Hill defensive lineman Keith Minor as part of their 2014 recruiting class.

Cincinnati, which participates in the American Athletic Conference along with in-state programs Houston and SMU, was 9-4 overall and 7-1 in league play last season. The Bearcats ended the season with a 33-17 loss to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., on Dec. 27.

The Bearcats are coached by former Auburn and Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville.

The Anderson twins said they took in-season visits to Texas Tech, Houston, and Oklahoma State in the fall, and that they may not necessarily eventually sign with the same school.

“We’ve talked about it and I’m going to make my own decision,” Austin Anderson said. “Riley is going to do the same. If it happens to be the same place, that’s awesome. But if not, we’ll just move on with our lives and do it that way.”

Both players were instrumental in paving the way for a group of exclusively underclassmen runners, and helped the run-heavy Yellowjackets offense amass 4,465 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns in a 16-game season culminating with a Class 3A Division I state championship appearance -- the school's first-ever state finals berth.

Mineola figures to be a team to watch next season. Graduation will hurt its outstanding defensive front, but the team returns virtually all its offensive skill players and its secondary in addition to the Anderson twins.

2016 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers