Stephone Anthony (born July 28, 1992) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and current coach. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at Clemson.

Early years

A native of

Polkton, North Carolina Polkton is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,881 down from 3,375 in 2010. The town is named after its founder, Leonidas L. Polk. History Polkton was founded by Leonidas La ...

, Anthony attended Anson High School, where he was a four-year starter. Anthony had 123 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two interceptions as a senior in 2010. In addition to football, Anthony was also a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team and a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team, as well as a

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

athlete (11.3 s in the 100m). Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Anthony was rated the No. 3 outside linebackers prospect. He chose Clemson over

UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of No ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, and

Virginia Tech 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 re ...

College career

He appeared in all 13 games in 2011, including three starts. For the season, he registered 32 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, a pass breakup, and a team-high two caused fumbles in 292 snaps. He started seven of 13 games as a sophomore, recording 77 tackles, one sack and an interception. Anthony started all 13 games as a junior in 2013. He recorded a team-high 131 tackles with four sacks and an interception.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Anthony was selected in the first round (31st overall) of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previo ...

by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. The pick originally belonged to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

, and was traded to the Saints in the

Max Unger Maxwell McCandless Unger (born April 14, 1986) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League for 10 seasons. He played college football at Oregon and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round o ...

Jimmy Graham Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played only one year of college football at University of Miami after playing four years of basketball. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in ...

trade.

2015

On May 12, 2015, the Saints signed him to a four-year, $7.73 million contract with $6.24 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.38 million. He recorded his first sack October 4 in the Saint's 26-20 win over 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 divis ...

. In a Week 3 game against 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. ...

, Anthony was fined $17,363 for his hit on wide receiver

Devin Funchess Devin Akeem Funchess (born May 21, 1994) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Michigan, and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Indian ...

. During the Saints' Week 12 matchup also against the

, Anthony stopped

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

Jonathan Stewart Jonathan Creon Stewart (born March 21, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Oregon and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round (13th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft ...

after a handoff up the middle, stripped the ball, then ran it back for a touchdown. Nobody chased him as everyone assumed the play was dead. In the same game, Anthony also became the first person in NFL history to return a blocked kick for two points after Kevin Williams blocked an extra point, following a rule change that took effect in the offseason to allow such returns. Anthony recorded his 100th tackle in a Week 15 game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, where he also forced a fumble. He became the first Saints' rookie to record 100 tackles in a season since

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

linebacker

Rickey Jackson Rickey Anderson Jackson (born March 20, 1958) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1981–1993) and the San Francisco 49ers (1994–1995). He led the team's Dome P ...

. Anthony finished his rookie season with 112 tackles, one sack, one interception, and two forced fumbles. He had two scores, both coming against the

, and led all rookies in tackles. Anthony was also named to the

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

all-rookie team.

2016

On May 14, 2016, it was announced that Anthony would be moved to strongside linebacker, a position he never played before in the NFL. Anthony would go on to only play in 10 games in the regular season, recording 16 tackles. On December 20 he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, ending his 2016 season.

Miami Dolphins

On September 19, 2017, Anthony was traded to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

for a 2018 fifth-round draft pick. On May 2, 2018, the Dolphins declined the fifth-year option on Anthony's contract, making him a free agent in 2019.

Atlanta Falcons

On July 26, 2019, Anthony signed with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

. He was released on August 18, 2019.

New York Jets

On August 20, 2019, Anthony signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

. He was released on August 31, 2019.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On September 25, 2019, Anthony signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was released on October 16, but was re-signed a week later.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 16, 2020, Anthony was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

practice squad. He was released on November 24, 2020.

Coaching career

In 2022, Anthony began his coaching career, joining the staff at his alma mater, Clemson, as a defensive graduate assistant.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bio

New Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Stephone 1992 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Atlanta Falcons players Clemson Tigers football players New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players Miami Dolphins players People from Polkton, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina