Drake Anderson may have been the last commitment to join Northwestern's Class of 2018, but it seemed destined all along.

Anderson is, of course, the son of Damien Anderson, who was Northwestern's all-time leading rusher until Justin Jackson surpassed his mark this season. When you watch Drake run on film, it's hard not to see his dad - the explosiveness, the vision, the cuts through traffic at full speed. Damien was bigger and more powerfully built, but Drake has the same type of speed and running style.

You'd figure that the son of a Northwestern great would have an easier path to becoming a Wildcat, but that wasn't the case for Drake. He endured two hip labrum surgeries - one on each hip - that wiped out both his sophomore and junior seasons. By the time he took the field this season, most spots were filled at the majority of schools.

But Anderson put together the kind of season that gets recruiters' attention.

He ran for 2,009 yards and 32 touchdowns for Chandler (Ariz.) this season, averaging 9.3 yards per carry. He was at his best when it mattered most, too, racking up 35 carries for 198 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wolves to a 49-42 win over Gilbert Perry in a shootout of an Arizona Class 6A state championship game.

He wound up picking up offers from Nevada, New Mexico State and Illinois. Then Northwestern, in search of another running back, extended him an offer in November. He took an official to Illinois on the weekend of Dec. 8, and then an official to NU last weekend.

He committed to the Wildcats that Saturday night. He had waited long enough.

Anderson figures to be the speedy, all-purpose type of back the Wildcats can use as a counter to the bigger and more powerful Isaiah Bowser, the Wildcats' other 2018 running back signee.

Regardless of how long the road to get to Evanston was, the important thing was that Anderson eventually arrived.