Senior Spotlight: Somon Anderson

The New Orleans native is adjusting pretty well to his new atmosphere in Mankato as the starting defensive back.

Somon Anderson grew up in New Orleans and spent his time playing basketball and football. He found his love for football in middle school when he realized he may not grow much more for basketball. 

Listed at 5 feet and 11 inches, Anderson chose to play defensive back throughout high school. Once college came around he chose to go to Mississippi State to play football for the Bulldogs. He played in four games and made the SEC student honor roll. Anderson then entered the transfer portal as a junior and decided to come to the third coldest state in America. 

“Honestly, the summers here are amazing but the winter time is real tough. Last year coming here and seeing snow for the first time was wicked crazy, it is really beautiful to see but to actually live here is really tough,” Anderson said.

Regardless of this change, he has made the most out of it. 

“It is different here. It is more like a family because a lot of the guys at Mississippi State don’t stay long and their main goal is to make it to the NFL but here it is like a brotherhood,” Anderson said. 

This new brotherhood is allowing him to shine. Anderson secured his first-ever college touchdown against the Augustana Vikings. Junior defensive Grant Nagel put pressure on the Vikings quarterback and tipped his pass up in the air giving Anderson a perfect opportunity to intercept the ball and run it into the back of the end zone. This was one of two interceptions he had in the game.

Anderson claimed that it was his proudest moment in football.

“That was the best feeling. I haven’t scored a touchdown yet,” Anderson said. “That is a defensive player’s ultimate goal. When I got the ball I almost froze and then I was like oh, I need to run the ball. Having all my teammates running to me after the touchdown was the best feeling ever and nothing has ever felt like that.”

The Mavericks have two games remaining in the season with a potential post-season ahead as well. Anderson, at a crisp 55-degree practice, was wearing three shirts and two layers of pants.

“I don’t care if you’re from here, cold is cold,” he commented. The cold weather is something everyone has to endure in the late games of the season. 

Anderson has his bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently working on his master’s in sports management. It remains to be seen what happens in his future, whether it is getting more interceptions or making the business decisions for a team.

Header Photo: Somon Anderson #0 picked up his first touchdown with the Mavericks against Augustana this season. (Dominic Bothe/The Reporter)

Write to Luke Jackson at Luke.Jackson@mnsu.edu