CU lands '22 running back and 3-time Florida state champ Anthony Hankerson

A day after bringing in some reinforcements at the tailback position in Sam Houston State grad transfer Ramon Jefferson, the Buffaloes received a commitment from Class of 2022 running back Anthony Hankerson out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Hankerson's commitment brings Colorado's Class of 2022 up to 24 members. He is expected to turn in a NLI on Wednesday.

After picking up an offer from the Buffs on Jan. 27, Hankerson was able to get out to Boulder for a visit.

The 5-foot-8, 186-pounder attracted over 20 scholarship offers in total, with Arizona, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia among the programs to pursue him this recruiting cycle.

This past season, as St. Thomas Aquinas cruised to a 14-1 record and its third straight Florida Class 7A state championship, he rushed for 1,057 yards on 165 carries.

In the state title game vs. Tampa Bay Tech, he scored three touchdowns, rushing for 117 yards on 11 carries.

In only nine games in 2020 as a junior, Hankerson was no less dominant, as he ran the ball 178 times for 1,178 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In 2019, Hankerson's sophomore season, when he was teammates with soon-to-be CU sophomore defensive lineman Allan Baugh, he also produced an 1,000-yard season, winning his first of three state championships by year's end.

As for Hankerson's immediate future in Boulder, there remains some uncertainty.

CUSportsNation has learned that the Buffs plan on grayshirting Hankerson, delaying his enrollment until the Spring 2023 semester.

There could be room for that to change, in the event of one of Colorado's running backs getting injured before fall camp, at which point Hankerson may end up joining the team over the summer.

Currently, true freshman Victor Venn, sophomore utility back Jayle Stacks, junior Deion Smith plus seniors Alex Fontenot and Jefferson are set to make up CU's tailbacks room.