South Floridian, former New York Jet goes from the Gridiron to the Greens
Though golf and football are among the most diametrically opposed sports there are some parallels between the two that Stevie Anderson is arguing for. By making significant progress in his ardent pursuit of a PGA tour career, Anderson, who spent five years making acrobatic catches in the National Football League (NFL), is bridging the gap between the two sports.
Incredibly, all three of Anderson’s brothers from the sleepy town of Jonesboro, Louisiana, participated in the NFL. He is currently playing in PGA qualifying tournaments across the nation and, of all places, is on the golf course.
Anderson clearly has the physical ability to play on the tour based on the force of his swing, but he still faces a tremendous challenge. Anderson has spent his entire life overcoming challenges. He played at Grambling State, a small school with a student body of just under 5,000, and defied all expectations when the Arizona Cardinals selected him in the eighth round of the NFL Draft in 1993.
Anderson was a very special player at Grambling State, a historically black university where he had the privilege of playing for legendary football coach Eddie Robinson, the second-winningest coach in division one college football history. Robinson’s team, though, had some disadvantages.
Every senior on the team, regardless of whether they were a star or a bench warmer, was given the chance to play, according to a strict rule maintained by Robinson. Anderson’s playing time was cut in half as a result of this. In order to give seniors a chance to be noticed by scouts, Robinson implemented this measure.
Robinson was honorable in his unconventional coaching style, but Anderson was severely hindered in his ability to put up the high wide receiver production numbers that are frequently expected from players on under-the-radar teams in the NFL.
Anderson’s senior year was by far his most fruitful. He maximized each of his 36 receptions by scoring a mind-boggling 12 touchdowns, so he made the most of every one of them. It translates to one touchdown for every three receptions, for the math nerds.
Despite Grambling State’s history of producing NFL alumni like Doug Williams, the first African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl in league history, these numbers were good enough for Anderson to be invited to play in the Hawaiian Hula Bowl, college football’s all-star game.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Anderson in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, which was a significant reward for his outstanding collegiate career. Anderson is a wide receiver who weighs 6-6 and 215 pounds and has blazing speed, size, and length. In the following five years, Anderson played for the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL.
He sustained a career-ending injury after running a routine pass pattern in his fifth NFL season while competing against the Seattle Seahawks. Anderson’s defender tripped him, landed awkwardly on his knee, and tore his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). Anderson made a smooth transition from football to modeling after his playing days were over, and his life seemed to be going in the right direction.
He now makes golf his hobby. If the comeback kid Anderson’s past is any indication, one day soon after an illustrious career on the gridiron, you will see him competing on the same green grass as Tiger Woods.