Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Versatile Andrews excelling in final year
10/26/2016 6:00:00 PM | Football
Senior has 5 TD catches
MURFREESBORO - It's been an interesting road on and off the field for Middle Tennessee wide receiver Dennis Andrews.
The redshirt senior from Tallahassee, Florida, originally attended Georgia Tech University for four years, taking a redshirt in his first season.
In the Yellow Jackets' triple option offensive scheme, Andrews played mostly an A-back position, meaning he was essentially a blocking running back.
While Georgia Tech sometimes lined up in a spread and Andrews got the chance to flank out wide, he wanted more of an opportunity to play the receiver position. After playing in 24 games at GT, he transferred to Middle Tennessee after earning a degree, arriving in Murfreesboro in July.
Not only did he go through a change of residency, but he also changed his position to receiver once arriving on the MT campus. The learning curve was a little tough at first, but Andrews is making strides every week for the Blue Raiders. He played his best game for the blue and white against Missouri, catching five passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
"When I first got to receiver it was hard to look the ball in," he said. "I was dropping the ball every now and then, but over time I just became more consistent."
The change from running back to receiver wasn't the first time Andrews has had to learn a new position. Before playing running back at Georgia Tech, at Godby High School in Tallahassee he played quarterback, throwing for 5,426 yards and 36 touchdowns in his high school career.
His experience as a quarterback could have played into the relative ease he had in figuring out the running back and receiver positions.
"I feel like quarterback taught me a lot about the game, reading coverages and understanding why receivers are running the routes they're running," Anderson said. "I think coming from that aspect of the game you have a better understanding of all other positions."
When he arrived on Middle Tennessee's campus, Andrews didn't have high aspirations of cracking the starting lineup. But as injuries have swept across the Blue Raider receiving corps, his name was called early and his consistency has created more opportunities for him.
"We have a next man up rule here," he said. "The next man up needs to be prepared."
The two touchdown grabs he had against Missouri were his fourth and fifth scores of the season. It was also the third game in a row he recorded a TD.
His five receiving TDs rank second on the team behind redshirt sophomore Richie James' six, despite Anderson only having 19 catches to rank fifth on the team. He credits his nose for the end zone to connectivity with his quarterback.
"I think it's just being on the same page with [quarterback] Brent [Stockstill]," Andrews said. "Every time we step on the field, when we go back and look on film, we can tell it's exactly what we're practicing … it's the same mechanics we're using during the game."
As Middle Tennessee gets back into the thick of Conference USA play, Anderson is working to become more consistent as a receiver. With the progress he's shown so far, it's not hard to believe he will continue to be a favorite of Stockstill's.
The quarterback already has high things to say about his new receiver.
"He's just taken coaching extremely well. He's a very competitive kid, and he's gotten better every week. I think the sky's the limit for him … he's a guy you like to have on your side."
The redshirt senior from Tallahassee, Florida, originally attended Georgia Tech University for four years, taking a redshirt in his first season.
In the Yellow Jackets' triple option offensive scheme, Andrews played mostly an A-back position, meaning he was essentially a blocking running back.
While Georgia Tech sometimes lined up in a spread and Andrews got the chance to flank out wide, he wanted more of an opportunity to play the receiver position. After playing in 24 games at GT, he transferred to Middle Tennessee after earning a degree, arriving in Murfreesboro in July.
Not only did he go through a change of residency, but he also changed his position to receiver once arriving on the MT campus. The learning curve was a little tough at first, but Andrews is making strides every week for the Blue Raiders. He played his best game for the blue and white against Missouri, catching five passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
"When I first got to receiver it was hard to look the ball in," he said. "I was dropping the ball every now and then, but over time I just became more consistent."
The change from running back to receiver wasn't the first time Andrews has had to learn a new position. Before playing running back at Georgia Tech, at Godby High School in Tallahassee he played quarterback, throwing for 5,426 yards and 36 touchdowns in his high school career.
His experience as a quarterback could have played into the relative ease he had in figuring out the running back and receiver positions.
"I feel like quarterback taught me a lot about the game, reading coverages and understanding why receivers are running the routes they're running," Anderson said. "I think coming from that aspect of the game you have a better understanding of all other positions."
When he arrived on Middle Tennessee's campus, Andrews didn't have high aspirations of cracking the starting lineup. But as injuries have swept across the Blue Raider receiving corps, his name was called early and his consistency has created more opportunities for him.
"We have a next man up rule here," he said. "The next man up needs to be prepared."
The two touchdown grabs he had against Missouri were his fourth and fifth scores of the season. It was also the third game in a row he recorded a TD.
His five receiving TDs rank second on the team behind redshirt sophomore Richie James' six, despite Anderson only having 19 catches to rank fifth on the team. He credits his nose for the end zone to connectivity with his quarterback.
"I think it's just being on the same page with [quarterback] Brent [Stockstill]," Andrews said. "Every time we step on the field, when we go back and look on film, we can tell it's exactly what we're practicing … it's the same mechanics we're using during the game."
As Middle Tennessee gets back into the thick of Conference USA play, Anderson is working to become more consistent as a receiver. With the progress he's shown so far, it's not hard to believe he will continue to be a favorite of Stockstill's.
The quarterback already has high things to say about his new receiver.
"He's just taken coaching extremely well. He's a very competitive kid, and he's gotten better every week. I think the sky's the limit for him … he's a guy you like to have on your side."
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