Coachs take: Avery Anderson

Friends and future college teammates Avery Anderson and Eric Lee have a lot in common.

They attended Nebraska's junior day together in January and shortly thereafter committed to become Huskers. They are both Rivals250 members and they both were instrumental to their high school teams winning state championships in Colorado last season.

As juniors, Lee helped Valor Christian win the 5A state title game, and Anderson helped Colorado Springs (Colo.) Pine Creek take home the 4A title with a 49-14 over Montrose.

"We don't win the championship without him, we simply don't," Pine Creek head coach Todd Miller said about Anderson. "I don't think we play in INVESCO [Field] and win if we don't have Avery. Now does it take a lot of other guys to win as well? It sure does. But, he is the type of person that as a father you would want your son to be like -- on the field or off the field.

"For what we do, I'm just glad that Avery is on our team. I would not like to have to coach against him, I can tell you that. He's just a great football player and he doesn't fit into a box because he does so many things so well.

"We've had guys that run better, we've had guys that are bigger, we've had guys that are more physical, but we have never had anyone who does everything -- from catching the ball, to playing defense, and to being able to play offense. Next season for us he will do everything from playing quarterback to wide receiver and running back."

Coach Miller proceeded to expand upon the strengths of Anderson's skill set which Pine Creek utilized on their way to a 12-2 record in 2013.

"He is just a football player," Coach Miller explained. "I don't know if he has one strength that is better than the others. For me, being kind of an old school coach, I just like the way he hits. You know, he is willing to throw his body into just about anything.

"We haven't asked him to cover like he will have to on the next level with him probably moving to corner, but from our vantage point just his ability to make plays sticks out. And the bigger the game, the better he played. His best four games of the year where our four playoff games. When we needed him the most, he showed up. That's the sign of a good football player."

Though he's slated to play in the Cornhuskers' secondary, Anderson has the ability to play other collegiate positions, according to Coach Miller.

"I know that they are looking to play him at corner, but I have not seen too many kids with the ball skills that he has," Coach Miller relayed. "I think he likes defense better, but I think as a slot receiver, if he continues to get a little bigger, he's got the guts to go across the middle.

"He has great skills to be able to make people miss. You couldn't kick off to him because he is our kick returner too and he's got the chance to return it all the way every single time. So I don't know what his best college position will be. He's going to have to make a decision, or maybe the coaches will make it for him. But I feel pretty good with him being able to do just about anything he wants, given the opportunity and how it fits."

Anderson will be an early enrollee at Nebraska, and when he begins his college classes in Lincoln he will be the youngest player on the Huskers' roster by a good bit.

"Yes, he is on track to graduate in December, so he has been taking summer school classes even though academically he is pretty bright," Coach Miller shared. "He's also a young junior. I believe that he just got his driver's license which means he just turned 16. So he is a young one.

"He has put on about 10-15 pounds this winter. He looks a lot better than he did last season physically. So from that perspective, we are really happy and I know that Nebraska is going to be very happy too. It seems like he's just kind of starting to fill out. I don't think a lot of schools realize how young he is when they were recruiting him."

Anderson comes from a military family and Coach Miller credits his parents for raising an outstanding young man.

"Oh, he's just a great kid to get to know, Coach Miller stated about Avery Anderson. "He came to us from Arizona. He transferred in being a military kid, so he's a 'yes sir', 'no sir' type of kid with just a great upbringing. He has great parents. He does everything we ask of him and more. I can't say enough about how he treats his teammates, but also his classmates. He has great peer to peer relationships throughout our school. He is just a positive influence at Pine Creek high school.

"Avery is so many things. He is a calming presence in the locker room. He's a competitor on the field. All of his classmates like him, whether they are football players or not. He doesn't say much, but yet he does with the way he works. All of those things, as a coach and as a father, you would want your son to do.

"Killian, his father, has done a great job of raising him the right way. You expect nothing but the best from Avery. I really believe that the sky is the limit with him, given his ability to stay healthy. He has been a fun kid to coach and we would like a couple more years with him."