Jamaal Anderson (born February 6, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons eighth overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. Anderson also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, and Chicago Bears.

Early life

Anderson grew up in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

with parents Glenn and Karen Anderson and a sister, Danielle. His father, Dr. Glenn Anderson, was a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The senior Anderson was the first deaf African-American to receive a doctoral degree in the United States. Jamaal was a two-sport athlete at

Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School :'' For other places with this name, see Parkview School (disambiguation).'' Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School is a magnet school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States that concentrates heavily on science and the arts. It is Arkansa ...

in Little Rock before focusing on football as a wide receiver his senior season.

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

football coach

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (19 ...

and brother

Danny Nutt Danny Nutt (born May 7, 1961) is a former college football assistant coach. He served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development at Ole Miss during Houston Nutt's tenure as head coach. His last coaching position was with the Arkan ...

, who had a hearing-impaired father, used American sign language during a recruiting visit; Jamaal committed to Arkansas shortly thereafter on January 15, 2004.

College career

The Razorbacks switched him to defensive end when Anthony Brown was injured during Anderson's sophomore season. Anderson excelled in his new position. Anderson recorded 17.5

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

sacks in his time at

, with those sacks going for minus 128 yards. He also recorded 130 tackles, with 84 solos. He had 32 stops for losses of 167 yards. He had 35 quarterback pressures, 8 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 20 starts. For his role on the

2006 Arkansas Razorbacks football team The 2006 Arkansas Razorbacks football team completed the season with a 10–4 record. The Razorbacks had a regular season SEC record of 7–1. Schedule Rankings Roster Game summaries USC USC and Arkansas both came into the game wi ...

, Anderson recorded first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

honors and honorable mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors. Anderson chose to forgo his senior season at Arkansas, and entered the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Anderson was drafted with the 8th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2007 NFL Draft. The pick used to select Anderson was previously acquired from the Houston Texans in a trade that sent

Matt Schaub Matthew Schaub (born June 25, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the th ...

to Houston. Anderson earned the position of Falcons' starting right defensive end during training camp and started 15 regular season games. He finished the 2007 season with 30 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 3 pass defenses, and 0 quarterback sacks. Anderson recorded his first sack against Chicago Bears

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...

on October 12, 2008. He finished the 2008 season with 27 tackles, and two sacks. He moved to defensive tackle after a few games in 2009 due to injuries to the Falcons defensive line and his struggles at end. On July 29, 2011, he was released by Atlanta. Anderson played in 60 games over four seasons for Atlanta, with 47 starts.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 1, 2011, Anderson signed with the Indianapolis Colts. In a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 25, 2011, Anderson recovered a

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

fumble caused by

Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney (born February 19, 1980) is an American former football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse University, whe ...

and returned it 47 yards for his first NFL touchdown.

Cincinnati Bengals

Anderson signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on March 23, 2012, and was released on July 10, 2013.

Chicago Bears

Anderson signed with the Chicago Bears on July 25, 2013 for a one-year deal. He was released on August 17, 2013.

NFL statistics

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jamaal 1986 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Arkansas Razorbacks football players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Cincinnati Bengals players Indianapolis Colts players Players of American football from Arkansas Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas