Reidel Anthony
Encyclopedia
Reidel Clarence Anthony is a former American college and professional football
player who was a wide receiver
in the National Football League
(NFL) for five seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s. Anthony played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
of the NFL.
in 1976. He attended Glades Central High School
in Belle Glade, Florida
, and he was a stand-out high school football
player for the Glades Central Raiders.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was a wide receiver
and a key target in head coach
Steve Spurrier
's Florida Gators football
team from 1994 to 1996
. Anthony showed his stuff as a freshman
Spurrier's "fun 'n' gun" offense in 1994, when he caught an 87-yard touchdown
pass from Gators quarterback
Eric Kresser against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. As a junior
in 1996, he played an instrumental role in the Gators' 12–1 national championship season, catching seventy-two passes to lead the Southeastern Conference
(SEC) with 1,293 yards (an average of 18.0 yards per reception
), and setting the SEC regular season record with eighteen touchdown catches. Both Anthony and his fellow Gator wideout, Ike Hilliard
, were first-team All-SEC selections and earned consensus first-team All-American honors. During his three college seasons, the Gators won three consecutive SEC Championship Game
s in 1994
, 1995
and 1996
.
In the aftermath of his All-American junior season and the Gators' Bowl Alliance
national championship victory over the Florida State Seminoles
in the Sugar Bowl
, Anthony decided to forgo his final season of NCAA
eligibility and enter the NFL Draft
. He finished his college career with 126 receptions for 2,274 yards and twenty-six touchdowns (a career average of 18.0 yards per reception). His eighteen receiving touchdowns in 1996 remains the SEC and Gators' team record.
Anthony was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.
chose Anthony in the first round (sixteenth pick overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft
, and he played for the Buccaneers for five seasons from to .
In , Anthony recorded thirty-five receptions for 448 yards and four touchdowns. In his first game, Anthony became (and still remains) the youngest NFL player ever to record a touchdown reception (20 years, 315 days). In , he set career highs with fifty-one receptions for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. In perhaps his finest game as a Buccaneer, Anthony recorded 126 receiving yards with two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars
on November 15, 1998. During the year, he also finished eighth in the NFL in all-purpose yards, totaling 1,869 yards. In , Anthony had thirty receptions for 296 yards, and scored one touchdown. In , Anthony had fifteen receptions for 232 yards and four touchdowns. In his final NFL season in , he recorded thirteen receptions for 162 yards.
Anthony finished his five-year NFL career with 144 receptions for 1,846 yards and sixteen touchdowns.
in Ocala, Florida
. He is also a contributing writer to the ESPN
-affiliated fan site GatorCountry.com as its official offensive analyst.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for five seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s. Anthony played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
of the NFL.
Early years
Anthony was born in Pahokee, FloridaPahokee, Florida
Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,985 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,459. Culturally, Pahokee is associated with the Florida Heartland, although...
in 1976. He attended Glades Central High School
Glades Central High School
Glades Central High School is a high school located in Belle Glade, Florida. It is known for having one of the best high school football teams in the nation, with more football players in the NFL and in the NCAA than any other high school...
in Belle Glade, Florida
Belle Glade, Florida
Belle Glade is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. The population was 14,906 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2007, the city had a population of 16,739....
, and he was a stand-out high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
player for the Glades Central Raiders.
College career
Anthony received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and a key target in head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1994 to 1996
1996 Florida Gators football team
The 1996 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the team's seventh season under head coach Steve Spurrier...
. Anthony showed his stuff as a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
Spurrier's "fun 'n' gun" offense in 1994, when he caught an 87-yard touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
pass from Gators quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Eric Kresser against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. As a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
in 1996, he played an instrumental role in the Gators' 12–1 national championship season, catching seventy-two passes to lead the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) with 1,293 yards (an average of 18.0 yards per reception
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
), and setting the SEC regular season record with eighteen touchdown catches. Both Anthony and his fellow Gator wideout, Ike Hilliard
Ike Hilliard
Isaac Jason "Ike" Hilliard is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver for twelve seasons in the National Football League during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for...
, were first-team All-SEC selections and earned consensus first-team All-American honors. During his three college seasons, the Gators won three consecutive SEC Championship Game
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
s in 1994
1994 SEC Championship Game
The 1994 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 24-23 over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 3, 1994 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:*...
, 1995
1995 SEC Championship Game
The 1995 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 34-3 over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 2, 1995 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:*...
and 1996
1996 SEC Championship Game
The 1996 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 45-30 over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7, 1996 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:**...
.
In the aftermath of his All-American junior season and the Gators' Bowl Alliance
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship bowl game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences...
national championship victory over the Florida State Seminoles
Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in college football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I-FBS and are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
in the Sugar Bowl
1997 Sugar Bowl
The 1997 Sugar Bowl was the 63rd edition to the annual game. It featured the top ranked , and their heated rivals, the third ranked Florida Gators. It was the designated National Championship Game for the 1996-97 season by the Bowl Alliance. The match up was supposed to feature the top two teams...
, Anthony decided to forgo his final season of NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
eligibility and enter the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. He finished his college career with 126 receptions for 2,274 yards and twenty-six touchdowns (a career average of 18.0 yards per reception). His eighteen receiving touchdowns in 1996 remains the SEC and Gators' team record.
Anthony was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.
Professional career
The Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
chose Anthony in the first round (sixteenth pick overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft
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. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
, and he played for the Buccaneers for five seasons from to .
In , Anthony recorded thirty-five receptions for 448 yards and four touchdowns. In his first game, Anthony became (and still remains) the youngest NFL player ever to record a touchdown reception (20 years, 315 days). In , he set career highs with fifty-one receptions for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. In perhaps his finest game as a Buccaneer, Anthony recorded 126 receiving yards with two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 15, 1998. During the year, he also finished eighth in the NFL in all-purpose yards, totaling 1,869 yards. In , Anthony had thirty receptions for 296 yards, and scored one touchdown. In , Anthony had fifteen receptions for 232 yards and four touchdowns. In his final NFL season in , he recorded thirteen receptions for 162 yards.
Anthony finished his five-year NFL career with 144 receptions for 1,846 yards and sixteen touchdowns.
Life after the NFL
Anthony currently is the receivers coach for the Celtics football team of Trinity Catholic High SchoolTrinity Catholic High School (Florida)
Trinity Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory day school in Ocala, Florida, operated by the Christian Brothers. Located in the Diocese of Orlando, Trinity Catholic is the first and only Catholic high school in metropolitan Ocala....
in Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
. He is also a contributing writer to the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
-affiliated fan site GatorCountry.com as its official offensive analyst.
See also
- 1996 College Football All-America Team1996 College Football All-America TeamThe 1996 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News and Football News....
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
- History of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersHistory of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-John McKay and early frustration :The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West...
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft picks