Andalusia High School senior B.J. Anderson signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Vanderbilt University on Wednesday morning at Andalusia High School in front of many friends and family members.

“The recruiting process can be really stressful,” Anderson said. “It takes its toll on you, but once Vandy offered me (a scholarship) everything just fell into place. I knew that’s where I was going to go.”

Anderson is a three-star prospect that spent most his football career at wide receiver, but it was his defensive abilities that the Commodores were after.

During his senior season at Andalusia, Anderson led the Bulldogs to the state semifinals with 1, 297 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. Playing defense, Anderson led the Bulldogs with seven interceptions.

With several offers on the table from football programs across the nation, Anderson said it was an easy choice to pick Vanderbilt.

“Just having the opportunity to play in the SEC,” Anderson said of his commitment to Vanderbilt. “It’s a chance to play against the best players in the country. It’s also a really great academic school, and that was important to me. It’s just really cool to have the chance to play in the SEC.”

Also helping his decision was the fact that he already has a friend playing for the Commodores. Last year, Vanderbilt swooped in late and signed Andalusia defensive back Allan George. George redshirted this past season at Vanderbilt.

“It’s really cool having Allan already there,” Anderson said. “From day one I will have someone that I know. We won’t have to form a bond because we have already done that in high school.”

During his official visit a few weeks ago to Vanderbilt, Anderson said he came away extremely impressed with the school and its football program.

“The first thing I noticed was just how important academics is to them,” Anderson said. “As a freshman, you have to have a certain number of hours with a tutor. That really impressed me a lot. I’m also looking forward to meeting a lot of new people. Nashville is a pretty cool place and it’s going to give me chances to experience new things.”

Anderson said that he plans on majoring in education with a minor in business.

“I’m really just excited about this opportunity to further my education and football career,” Anderson said. “I’m a Commodore.”