Temple signee Kitt Anderson won’t be playing in the Bucks County All-Star Game on Saturday night. By his own admission, he didn’t do enough during the 2006 campaign to merit a spot among the county’s top seniors.But Anderson fully expects to be on the field with the Owls in 2007.
Huh?
How does that happen? Isn’t Anderson supposed to be good? Why is it that one of the top tailback prospects in the Philadelphia suburbs will be watching his local all-star finale?
There’s a good reason.
Anderson was injured last August and played in just four games for Neshaminy High School. He’s actually just completing his rehabilitation from a serious case of plantar fasciitis, which kept him on the sidelines for most of his senior year.
He’s had a number of ups and downs since verbally committing to Temple last June. So missing the county all-star game is not something that bothers him. In fact, looking back, Anderson says he might have been better off if he missed the entire 2006 season.
“I probably shouldn’t have come back,” Anderson said in a recent phone conversation. “But I wanted to come back and help my team. In my head I thought I was ready. Looking back, I wouldn’t do it. It definitely prolonged my rehab.”
Anderson (5-9, 180) first felt the pain in his foot when Neshaminy started practice last August.
“It was bothering me throughout camp,” he said. “Then I tore the fascia during the second week of camp. I had to get a cast on my foot for the tear.”
Anderson missed the first four games of the season. Doctors told him that it wasn’t dangerous for him to come back, but it might hurt.
“My dad told me if I felt OK to do it,” Anderson said.
The doctors were right.
“I was in constant pain,” Anderson said.
He carried the ball 46 times for 308 yards and three touchdowns. That was the good news. The bad news was that Neshaminy, which was nationally ranked by USA Today in 2005, finished 6-4.
Since the end of the season, Anderson’s football focus has mostly been on rehab. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue supporting the arch of the foot.
“It was a long healing process,” he said. “I had to do extensive calf work. I’m still doing physical therapy.”
In a sense, Anderson has been lucky with his timing.
He made an early commitment to the Owls, who had to be impressed by the 4.47 time he clocked in the 40-yard dash at the Scout.com All-American Combine at Rutgers last April.
As a junior, Anderson rushed for 547 yards and 10 touchdowns as Neshaminy’s top backup. Incidentally, the starter on that team was Temple walk-on Jarred Kinney, who totaled 1,668 yards and 20 touchdowns. (Kinney is currently listed as Temple’s No. 2 running back, behind sophomore Jason Harper – and ahead of junior college transfer Marcellous Grigsby.)
Anderson was fortunate that his foot trouble didn’t happen sooner. By the time he was sidelined, he was already committed – no need to worry about scholarship offer contingencies.
“That was a blessing,” he said. “Or I would have been stuck.”
In addition to Kinney, and his twin brother Jason Kinney, Anderson is friendly with Georg Coleman, another Neshaminy product on the Temple roster. Coach Al Golden didn’t need the hard-sell approach to gain his commitment.
“I love the coaching staff’s attitude,” Anderson said. “I know we’re going to be winning. They have a good plan.”
As of now, according to Anderson, the plan is to put him in the mix with Harper, Kinney, Grigsby, and incoming recruits Kee-Ayre Griffin, Corwin Acker, and Joseph Jones.
“They said they want me as a running back, and that’s where I want to play,” he said. “I expect to play, whether it’s running back, special teams, wherever. The coaches have told us they expect us to come in and compete for playing time.”
One thing’s for sure. In 2007, Anderson will definitely put his best foot forward.