Former New York Jet Takes a Shot at the PGA Tour

South Floridian, previous New York Jet goes from the Gridiron to the Greens

It is really hard to uncover two sports activities that are polar opposites more than golf and soccer, Stevie Anderson is making the case that there are some similarities in between the two sporting activities. Anderson, who used five-many years finishing acrobatic catches in the Countrywide Football League (NFL), is connecting the dots among the sports activities by generating severe inroads in his incredibly hot pursuit of a PGA tour career.

Anderson is a person of 3 brothers from Jonesboro, Louisiana – a smaller bucolic city – who remarkably all played in the NFL. Now he finds himself, in of all places, on the back links, exactly where he is touring throughout the country participating in PGA qualifying tournaments.

While it is noticeable by the power of his swing that Anderson has the bodily products to engage in on the tour, it is even now a gargantuan challenge that he has in advance of him. Anderson has spent his complete lifetime-time beating hurdles. He defied all odds when he was drafted in the NFL’s eighth spherical by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993, right after enjoying at Grambling Point out, an obscure university with an enrollment just shy of 5,000 college students.

Anderson was a incredibly distinctive participant at Grambling Point out, a historic, black college where by he had the luxury to engage in for legendary football coach Eddie Robinson, the second winningest mentor in division 1 college or university soccer record. However, enjoying for Robinson experienced its downsides.

Robinson taken care of a strict rule, in which each senior on the team – regardless of whether you were being a celebrity or bench-hotter – was supplied an possibility to perform. In Anderson’s scenario, this resulted in 50 percent a sport enjoying time. Robinson used this evaluate to give seniors the prospect to be seen by scouts.

Although this unconventional coaching philosophy was noble of Robinson, it seriously handicapped Anderson’s skill to set up the lofty quantities as a wide receiver normally needed from gamers on groups that are not on the NFL scouts’ radar.

Anderson’s senior 12 months was by considerably his most productive. He produced the most out of absolutely everyone of his 36 receptions by changing them into a staggering 12 touchdowns. For math geeks, this translates into one particular landing for just about every three receptions.

These quantities were great plenty of for Anderson to be invited to play in the Hawaiian Hula Bowl – higher education football’s all-star video game – a rarity for gamers from smaller plans like Grambling Point out, inspite of their heritage to deliver NFL alumni, which list incorporates Doug Williams, the initial African American quarterback to acquire a Super Bowl in league heritage.

Anderson, the 6-6, 215 pound extensive receiver – gifted with blazing velocity, dimension, and size – was rewarded appreciably for his stellar collegiate vocation when he was drafted in the 8th round by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993. Anderson went on to perform 5-many years in the NFL with both equally the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets.

In his fifth NFL year whilst competing versus the Seattle Seahawks, he suffered a career ending injury soon after working a schedule pass sample. Anderson’s defender tripped him and subsequently landed awkwardly on his knee – tearing his Posterior Crucial Ligament (PCL). Just after his football career ended, Anderson correctly transitioned into a modeling occupation and his lifetime appeared to be on monitor.

Now the activity of golfing is his avocation. If historical past repeats by itself for Anderson – the comeback child – you will see him competing on the similar inexperienced grass as Tiger Woods a single working day in the not so distant long term immediately after an illustrious job on the gridiron.