Bruce Anderson (born June 20, 1997) is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota State University.

Anderson attended River Valley High School in Yuba, California for two years before his family moved to Florida. While playing for Newsome High School Anderson totaled over 2,000 yards and 16 touchdown's on offense and also played safety. ^[1] On December 20, 2014 Anderson committed to North Dakota State despite holding offers from several FBS programs. ^[2]

Anderson was initially going to be redshirted during his freshman season, but instead became a stalwart in the Bison backfield. He would go on to play in all 15 games of the 2015 season as the starting kick returner in addition to being a regular at running back. Anderson was NDSU's leading kickoff returner with 585 yards and a school-record 36.56 yards per return, he would've led the FCS in kick return average by more than five yards, but his 16 return attempts were two shy of qualifying for the NCAA rankings. He also tied the NDSU career record with two kickoff return touchdowns. Anderson totaled 90 rushing attempts for 503 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. His explosive nature (particularly on kickoff returns) led to Bison fans yelling "“Bruuuuuuce” whenever he touched the ball, a tradition that would follow him throughout his career. ^{[1] [3]}

Anderson's sophomore season was a down year. He only played in nine out of fourteen games due to injury and was 5th on the team in rushing yards behind two other running backs, quarterback Easton Stick and fullback Chase Morlock. ^[4]

After a lackluster sophomore season, Anderson would rebound in 2017 with a career high 1,216 rushing yards. He played in all 15 games of the 2017 North Dakota State title winning season scoring 15 total touchdowns. Anderson also added 156 receiving yards and tied the school record for touchdowns in a game with five rushing touchdowns against Sam Houston State in the FCS semi-finals. For his accomplishments he was named Second team FCS All-American by HERO Sports. ^[5]

In 2018 Anderson appeared in 12 out 15 games. He split starting duties with fellow all-conference running back Lance Dunn and rushed for a team-high 924 yards. Anderson averaged 7.45 yards per carry during his senior campaign, fourth highest in program history. His 16.8 yards per carry against Cal Poly set a school single-game record. Anderson was named 2nd team-all conference and 4th team FCS All-American. ^[6]

Anderson was signed by his hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers on April 27, 2019. ^[7] He made a strong impression in the Bucs final preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys with 77 total yards, helping him make his way onto the practice squad. ^{[8] [9]} Only two days after making the practice squad Tampa released Anderson. ^[10] On September 11, the Indianapolis Colts signed Anderson to the practice squad. ^[11] He was released due to injury on 11/14.

On December 30, 2019 the Colts signed Anderson to a reserve/future contract. On August 27, 2020 Anderson was moved to Injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. ^[12]

Anderson's father, Norman, was an air force master sergeant and civil engineer. The family lived in several locations including Japan, New Mexico and northern Califo☃☃rnia. Despite living Florida, Anderson's parents frequented his games throughout his college career. ^[3]

• North Dakota State Bison Bio
• Indianapolis Colts bio