Bobcats Hand Out More Offers

Texas State has been able to attract many of the state's best players to San Marcos for their junior days, but with only 14 confirmed offers out to 2014 players the Bobcats have been relatively conservative with who they've offered a scholarship to.

Alabama by comparison already has 11 offers out to defensive tackles alone.

One of the talented players to receive an early offer from Texas State is League City (TX) Clear Falls offensive lineman Cole Anderson who picked up his offer recently when he visited Texas State for a junior day.

"When they told me they were offering me a scholarship it was a big load off my shoulders," said Anderson. "To finally achieve that dream of playing college football just allows me to not have to worry about the process anymore and just go out and have fun with it."

Receiving an FBS offer is a big moment for any young football player and Anderson was able to go back and celebrate with his friends and family.

"My family has been really supportive, and a lot of my friends that know about it have called me up or sent me a text message so it's all been really cool," said Anderson. "A lot of those guys know how hard I work for something like this and it's just been a special couple of days."

A family member that joined Anderson on his visit was has dad. Both men came away impressed with what Texas State has to offer both athletically and academically.

"He thought it was really nice," Anderson said about his dad. "I had taken a few other visits recently, but this is the first time he's been able to go with me. It was a cool experience for both of us. We didn't know what to expect, but he liked the school as much or more than the athletic facilities. We were both pretty impressed."

This was also the first time Cole had been to San Marcos, and something head coach Dennis Franchione said about the area stuck with him.

"I had never been there before and my first impression was how beautiful the campus was," said Anderson. "I was talking with Coach Franchione who said it's one of the best kept secrets in Texas and he's right. The football facilities are really nice, but the campus itself and the surrounding area are also great."

New offensive line coach Gordy Shaw hit the ground running after being hired to Franchione's staff starting with last weekend's junior day. The junior day was his first chance to meet and introduce himself to many of the offensive linemen Texas State is recruiting.

"The first thing I did was meet with the new offensive line coach Gordy Shaw," said Anderson. "All the offensive linemen there got to sit and talk with him in his office for 30-40 minutes and it was great getting to know him. Also getting to see the quad and the library were great experiences."

The coach that has had the longest relationship with Anderson is co-offensive coordinator Jeff Conway who recruits the Houston area for Texas State.

"He first came down to watch me at my school a couple weeks ago," said Anderson. "That's where I first met him. Since then he's been talking with me over Facebook a lot and invited me to the junior day. He talked with my dad and me for about 15-20 minutes before the junior day started so I've gotten to know him pretty well."

Anderson has already visited Michigan State, Northwestern and LSU among other schools and says that Texas State is right up there with the rest of them for his commitment. He's still in the process of working out plans for other visits, but wants to be as informed as possible before making a commitment.

"I was talking with coaches at Michigan State and Duke," said Anderson. "They want me to go up to their spring practices, but I don't know if that's going to be financially feasible for our family, but I want to see as many schools as possible before I make a choice."

While his college decision may still be up in the air, another thing that is undecided is his best positional fit at the next level. He plays left tackle for his high school, but Anderson said most schools like him best at guard or center.

How does he feel about making the switch inside?

"If they're paying for my education then I'm willing to do whatever they want me to do," said Anderson.