Mike Anderson (running back)

Michael Moschello "Mike" Anderson (born September 21, 1973) is a former American football running back and Marine. He was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, and also played for the Baltimore Ravens during his NFL career. He played college football at Utah.

Anderson, who earned the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2000, has also played for the Baltimore Ravens in his career.

High school
Anderson is a graduate of Fairfield Central High School in Fairfield, South Carolina, where he did not compete in sports.

Marine Corps
Anderson spent four years in the United States Marine Corps upon completion of high school in order to earn educational benefits and in consideration of a possible military career. While in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, he played on the 11th Marines contact football team, where he was seen by an assistant coach for Mt. San Jacinto Junior College.

College career
Anderson attended Mt. San Jacinto Junior College for two years. He won the California State JUCO Player of the Year after rushing for 1,686 yards as a sophomore, and as a freshman helped his team win the L.A. Bowl. During the season, Anderson posted 1,511 rushing yards. Anderson went on to become a two-time all-conference player at the University of Utah where he was a teammate of Carolina Panthers star wide receiver Steve Smith. Anderson finished his two-year career with the best per-game rushing average in school history (102.4 avg.)

Denver Broncos
Anderson played five seasons for the Denver Broncos. In his first season in 2000 he ended up with 1,487 yards and received the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. He was plagued by injuries in the following years, not even playing in 2004, the result of tearing both groin muscles while blocking on a punt return in the waning moments of a meaningless preseason game. The 2005 NFL season was a good one for him. He rushed for 1,014 yards in 15 games. In reaching his second 1,000-yard rushing season, Anderson set several modern-day NFL records (longest stretch between seasons leading a team in rushing, longest stretch between a player's first and second 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and greatest number of seasons passed between 1,000-yard rushing seasons with no intervening seasons rushing for that distance). On March 1, 2006, Anderson was waived by the Denver Broncos to avoid exceeding the league-imposed salary cap.

Baltimore Ravens
On March 12, 2006, Anderson and the Ravens agreed on a contract. During the 2006 season, he was third string behind Jamal Lewis and Musa Smith. He finished 2006 with 39 carries for 143 yards and 1 touchdown, as well as 9 receptions for 54 yards. On February 27, 2008 the Ravens released him, ending his NFL career.