Antonio Kenneth Anderson (born June 4, 1973) is a former American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He also was a member of the

Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home games were playe ...

in the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Early years

Anderson attended

Midwood High School Midwood High School is a high school located at 2839 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, administered by the New York City Department of Education. It has an enrollment of 3,938 students. Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic order, Ionic co ...

, where he was a two-way player at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He transferred to

Milford Academy Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1916 as Yale Preparatory School. It has been located in New Berlin, New York since 2004. Although founded as a preparatory school, its current focus is as a school for athletes who have th ...

, where he focused on playing

. As a senior, he registered 90 tackles (30 for loss), 13 sacks, and 3 blocked punts, while receiving Super Prep Al-American and All-Northeast honors.

College career

Anderson accepted a football scholarship from

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he played in every game (3 starts) at

, registering 13 tackles, one sack and one quarterback pressure. He had 2 tackles and one sack in the season opener against

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

. He made 4 tackles (one for loss) against the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. As a sophomore reserve left defensive tackle, he made 17 tackles (2 for loss), one sack and 4 quarterback pressures. He had 5 tackles, one sack and one quarterback pressure against

Virginia Tech University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six reg ...

. He had 4 tackles (one for loss), one quarterback pressures and one fumble recovery against

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. As a junior, he started 6 games at left defensive tackle and 2 contests at right defensive tackle, posting 42 tackles (3 for loss), 8 quarterback pressures (led team), 3.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and one pass defensed. He had 4 tackles and one fumble recovery against

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. He tallied 6 tackles against

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. He made 5 tackles and 2 quarterback pressures against

. He had 7 tackles (one for loss) against the

. He made 2.5 sacks against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. As a senior, he started all of the games, recording 45 tackles (9 for loss), 4 sacks, 27 quarterback pressures, 2 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles. He had 6 tackles, half a sack and 4 quarterback pressures in the season opener against the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. He collected 6 tackles, 4 quarterback pressures, one sack and one forced fumble against

. He had 7 tackles and 2 sacks against

. He tallied 5 tackles (one for loss) and 7 quarterback pressures against

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Anderson was selected by the

in the fourth round (101st pick overall) of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

, after dropping because his physical skills didn't match his on-field production. As a rookie, he registered 40 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks, 3 quarterback pressures and 2 passes defensed. He started five games and received NFL All-rookie team honors. He had 7 tackles in the third game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, starting in place of an injured Chad Hennings. He collected 2 tackles, one quarterback pressure and one pass defensed against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He made 4 tackles and one sack against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He had 6 tackles in the eighth game against the

. He totaled 5 tackles against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was limited to only five games and 5 tackles (one for loss) due to a right knee injury, eventually falling out of the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

rotation. He was left unprotected for the 1999 NFL Expansion Draft.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns selected him in the 1999 NFL Expansion Draft. He was released on April 22.

Carolina Panthers

On June 24,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was released before the season started on July 21.

Memphis Maniax (XFL)

In 2001, Anderson joined the

of the

. He was a backup

and registered 4 tackles. The league ceased operations in May 2001.

Personal life

Anderson was a defensive assistant coach at Hempstead High School. He was a defensive line coach with the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He was a defensive assistant at the Merchant Marine Academy. He was a defensive line coach at

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York. History Nassau Community College was cre ...

. He is currently a defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at

ASA College ASA College is a private for-profit college in New York City and Hialeah, Florida. The college has three campuses: Midtown Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn in New York, and Hialeah in Florida. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and ...

in New York. He is one of 14 children. He has 3 cousins that played professional sports: Stanford Jennings ( NFL), Keith Jennings ( NFL) and

John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Green ...

(

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

References

External links

Memphis Maniax bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Antonio 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York City American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Midwood High School alumni Syracuse Orange football players Dallas Cowboys players Memphis Maniax players Rhein Fire coaches High school football coaches in New York (state)