South Floridian, former New York Jet goes from the Gridiron to the Greens
It’s arduous to seek out two sports activities which are polar opposites greater than golf and soccer, Stevie Anderson is making the case that there are some similarities between the 2 sports activities. Anderson, who spent five-years finishing acrobatic catches within the Nationwide Soccer League (NFL), is connecting the dots between the sports activities by making critical inroads in his scorching pursuit of a PGA tour profession.
Anderson is one in every of three brothers from Jonesboro, Louisiana – a small bucolic city – who remarkably all performed within the NFL. Now he finds himself, in of all locations, on the hyperlinks, the place he’s touring all through the nation enjoying PGA qualifying tournaments.
Whereas it’s apparent by the facility of his swing that Anderson has the bodily items to play on the tour, it’s nonetheless a gargantuan problem that he has forward of him. Anderson has spent his entire life-time overcoming obstacles. He defied all odds when he was drafted within the NFL’s eighth spherical by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993, after enjoying at Grambling State, an obscure college with an enrollment simply shy of 5,000 college students.
Anderson was a really particular participant at Grambling State, a historic, black college the place he had the posh to play for legendary soccer coach Eddie Robinson, the second winningest coach in division one school soccer historical past. Nonetheless, enjoying for Robinson had its drawbacks.
Robinson maintained a strict rule, the place each senior on the staff – whether or not you had been a famous person or bench-warmer – was given a possibility to play. In Anderson’s case, this resulted in half a sport enjoying time. Robinson utilized this measure to present seniors the chance to be seen by scouts.
Whereas this unconventional teaching philosophy was noble of Robinson, it severely handicapped Anderson’s potential to place up the lofty numbers as a large receiver usually required from gamers on groups that aren’t on the NFL scouts’ radar.
Anderson’s senior yr was by far his most profitable. He made essentially the most out of everybody of his 36 receptions by changing them right into a staggering 12 touchdowns. For math geeks, this interprets into one landing for each three receptions.
These numbers had been ok for Anderson to be invited to play within the Hawaiian Hula Bowl – school soccer’s all-star sport – a rarity for gamers from small packages like Grambling State, regardless of their heritage to provide NFL alumni, which listing contains Doug Williams, the primary African American quarterback to win a Tremendous Bowl in league historical past.
Anderson, the 6-6, 215 pound vast receiver – gifted with blazing velocity, measurement, and size – was rewarded appreciably for his stellar collegiate profession when he was drafted within the eighth spherical by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993. Anderson went on to play five-years within the NFL with each the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets.
In his fifth NFL season whereas competing in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks, he suffered a profession ending harm after operating a routine move sample. Anderson’s defender tripped him and subsequently landed awkwardly on his knee – tearing his Posterior Essential Ligament (PCL). After his soccer profession ended, Anderson efficiently transitioned right into a modeling profession and his life seemed to be on observe.
Now the game of golf is his avocation. If historical past repeats itself for Anderson – the comeback child – you will note him competing on the identical inexperienced grass as Tiger Woods at some point within the not so distant future after an illustrious profession on the gridiron.