2024 three-star defensive end Joseph Anderson announced his commitment to Iowa on Monday via Twitter.
The product of Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, Missouri chose the Hawkeyes over offers from programs like Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and others. He took official visits to Nebraska and Kansas this month.
Anderson's recruitment steadily picked up throughout the spring, as his offer list eventually reached 19 schools.
“I think it’s because of my athleticism,” he told CycloneReport in May. “Another thing that I think is, because of my length and passion for the game. I’m a person of strong character and I think that plays a big role."
“I’ve gotten stronger and improved technically with my hands,” he added of his work this offseason. “I’m becoming a better student of the game. I also think I’m way more explosive and my improvement in my track numbers kind of show that.”
A state champion and All-American in the triple jump, Anderson also qualified for the Missouri state track meet in the long jump and 110m hurdles. He'll be on the track team at Iowa as well.
His personal records in the events are 47 feet, 4 inches in the triple, 22 feet, 7 inches in long jump and 14.59 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
On the football field, Anderson is a high-motor defensive end that is quick off the line of scrimmage and has a small repertoire of pass-rushing moves. He disengages from blockers well and does an excellent job of throwing his hands in the air and deflecting passes while getting after opposing quarterbacks.
Tall and lanky, the strength program will do a lot for him in Iowa City. Like fellow 2024 DL commit Devan Kennedy, Anderson has extremely high potential as a pass-rusher.
He posted 54 tackles, nine tackles for loss and six sacks en route to being named All-District and All-State for Westminster in 2022.
Anderson is the 17th commit on scholarship in the Hawkeyes' 2024 class. He joins a list of commitments that includes Kennedy, KJ Parker, Gavin Hoffman, Reece Vander Zee, Michael Burt, Brevin Doll, Xavier Williams, James Resar, Derek Weisskopf, Cam Buffington, Preston Ries, Drew Campbell, Cody Fox, Josh Janowski, Bodey McCaslin and William Nolan.
