Big hat-tip to Cardiac Hill for finding this one first. Pitt has added a QB to the roster with less than two weeks before camp begins. A kid heading the JUCO route will instead be a preferred walk-on at Pitt.

“The whole time I had been dead set on attending Tyler [Junior College],” Anderson said Wednesday. “Coach (Todd) Dodge gave me a call, and said they really needed a quarterback.

“He just asked me up for a visit to see how things would go, and I just fell in love with the place.”

The good news, he’s a winner. Led his team to a 16-0 season in his senior year and won the Texas Class 5A Division I State Championship.

The other side of the coin, he’s a 1- to 2-star recruit,  and measures at 6-0, and somewhere between 165 and 180 pounds. And according to Anderson himself, he was only around 150 pounds before his senior year — yeep. So, even Anderson knows he’s not coming to Pitt and compete for the starting job this year.

Pearland head coach Tony Heath has been keeping in contact with Dodge, but didn’t know if anything would evolve from their talks about Anderson.

“Todd and I have a pretty good relationship, and I know that (Dodge) watched Trey in the state game,” Heath said. “The situation opened up around Pittsburgh, and Todd got back with me, and now Trey has a unique opportunity.”

Anderson says he plans to redshirt this season.

“Pittsburgh has a starting quarterback and two backups,” Anderson said, “so I’m going to sit back, watch and learn. Honestly, me and my dad have always talked that all I need is one opportunity.

“I know that coach Graham is the kind of coach that will stick his neck out for what he believes. He doesn’t care what other people think if he feels it’s right. I just feel so fortunate to have this opportunity.”

According to the ESPN.com scouting report, in high school Anderson “Operates primarily out of the shotgun/spread set but occasionally will get under the center; is capable of running the zone read and speed option play smoothly; has the nimble feet necessary to function in the pocket or throw on the run both right and left.”

Odds are, he already has a good grasp of what Pitt’s new offense will want to do. At the very least, this will make him valuable as part of the practice team.

There’s no risk for Pitt on this. Not even a scholarship is used. At the worst, Anderson decides to leave after a year to go to junior college and hope to catch-on somewhere else. At best, Pitt gets a vital contributor who understands the offense and what is expected from teh QB that can be a solid back-up.

The only other thing to take away from this, is to note that QB Coach Todd Dodge hasn’t stopped talking to Texas HS coaches since coming to Pittsburgh. Not that there was serious concern, but clearly Dodge is embracing the role of an assistant on a college staff — beyond coaching the position. Recruiting (and that includes Chad Voytik), maintaining ties.

Here’s a link to watching some of Anderson’s HS highlights (via PantherLair). And a trick play just for fun.