Mel Anderson

Last updated
Mel Anderson
Personal information
Born:(1965-08-29)August 29, 1965
Career information
High school: Steel Valley High School
(Munhall, Pennsylvania, U.S.)
College: Minnesota
Position: Wide receiver
Undrafted: 1987
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games:2
Punt returns / Yds.:7 / 38
Kickoff returns / Yds.:1 / 8
Player stats at PFR

Melvin Anthony Anderson (born August 29, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota.

Contents

Early life

Anderson was an all-American athlete in track and field at Steel Valley High School in Munhall, Pennsylvania. In college, he played wide receiver for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. [1]

Professional football career

After going undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft, Anderson was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released before the start of the season, but was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in two games as a return specialist, returning seven punts for 38 yards and one kick for eight yards. [2]

Post-football career

In 1999, Anderson founded Track Minnesota Elite, an organization that trains high school track and field athletes to earn college scholarships. [1] [3]

Personal life

Anderson's wife, Lisa, ran track and field at Minnesota. His son, Isaac, played wide receiver at Wisconsin; his daughter, Taylor, ran track and field at UConn; and another daughter, Elise, ran track and field at Illinois State. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antwaan Randle El</span> American football player and coach (born 1979)

Antwaan Randle El is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers, earning first-team All-American honors in 2001. He also played basketball and baseball for the Hoosiers. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2002 NFL draft. Playing with the Steelers for four seasons as a wide receiver and return specialist, he was active in all 64 regular season games with 23 starts. He was also instrumental in a number of trick plays, including throwing a touchdown pass as a wide receiver for the Steelers in Super Bowl XL, the only wide receiver in Super Bowl history to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Roby</span> American football player (born 1983)

Courtney E. Roby is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft. Roby also played in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons.

Qadry Rahmadan Ismail, nicknamed "the Missile", is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange, earning first-team All-American honors in 1991. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 1993 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devin Aromashodu</span> American football player (born 1984)

Gbolahan Devin Aromashodu is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn.

Antoine Burns is a former American football wide receiver/defensive back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacoby Jones</span> American football player (born 1984)

Jacoby Rashi'd Jones is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Lane College, and was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played for the Texans from 2007 to 2011. Jones then played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2012 to 2014, and was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2012. He is known for two of the most memorable plays in the 2012 NFL playoffs as a member of the Ravens: catching a 70-yard game-tying touchdown pass in the final seconds of regulation in the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos, which helped lead the Ravens to an eventual 38–35 double overtime victory; and a 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers, the longest play in Super Bowl history. He also played for the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 and the Monterrey Steel of the National Arena League in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeMarcus Van Dyke</span> American football player (born 1989)

DeMarcus Van Dyke is a former American football cornerback who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Van Dyke is currently the cornerbacks coach for the South Florida Bull football team. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 3rd round, 81st overall of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Miami Hurricanes. He has also been a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Neal Evan Guggemos is a former NFL defensive back and kick returner. He played for the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacoby Ford</span> American gridiron football player (born 1987)

Jacoby Ford is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was also an accomplished track and field athlete. He played college football as a wide receiver and return specialist for the Clemson Tigers at Clemson University, where he competed in sprinting events. During his stint in the NFL, Ford was widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the league. He has one of the top 100 meter times by NFL players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MarQueis Gray</span> American football player (born 1989)

MarQueis Gray is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Minnesota, and was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also been a member of the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordarrelle Patterson</span> American football player (born 1991)

Cordarrelle Patterson, nicknamed "Flash", is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). A versatile utility player, he plays running back, wide receiver, return specialist, and occasionally on defense. Patterson played college football for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons before transferring to the Tennessee Volunteers, where he earned first-team All-SEC honors. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and the Atlanta Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefon Diggs</span> American football player (born 1993)

Stefon Marsean Diggs is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Melvin O'Key White is a former American football cornerback. He is known for having played with the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers. He played college football at Louisiana. His younger brother plays basketball for USC-Upstate. Currently he works for Railserve, Inc at Dow plant B in Freeport, TX as a brakeman.

David Cobb is a former American football running back. He played college football at Minnesota. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).

Isaac Fruechte is an American college football coach and former wide receiver. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of North Dakota, positions he has held since 2024. Fruechte played college football at Rochester Community and Technical College and Minnesota as well as high school in-state at Caledonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Coleman</span> American football player (born 1994)

Corey Defians Coleman is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for the Baylor Bears, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2015. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. J. Hamler</span> American football player (born 1999)

Kahlee Jacoby Hamler is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Johnson (American football)</span> American football player (born 1998)

Tyler Johnson is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He also briefly played for the Houston Texans.

Rashod Bateman is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota and was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Kalon Barnes is an American football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McDonald, Dr. Mitchell Palmer (August 19, 2015). "Former Gopher gives back through Track Minnesota Elite". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder . Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  2. "Mel Anderson". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  3. Max, Mike (May 26, 2017). "Melvin Anderson's 'Track Minnesota Elite' Molds Student-Athletes". CBS News . Retrieved May 6, 2024.