Anthony Scott Poindexter (born July 28, 1976) is an
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach and former
safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
, who is the current safeties coach for the
Penn State Nittany Lions. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
from 1995 to 1998 for head coach
George Welsh, and earned
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
honors. He then played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
and
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
from 1999 to 2001.
Early life
Poindexter, a native of
Bedford County, Virginia, attended New London Academy, Forest Middle School, and
Jefferson Forest High School in
Forest, Virginia.
In middle school, he led his team to an undefeated season as quarterback. In high school, Anthony excelled in football, baseball, and basketball.
[ As quarterback and safety, Poindexter led the Cavaliers to back-to-back Division 3 football championships in 1992 and 1993, defeating Matoaca High School in both finals.] Poindexter earned first-team all-state honors as a junior and senior. He was selected as the 1993 AP Group AA Player of the Year as a senior.[ Poindexter was drafted by the ]Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
during his senior season of high school.
College career
Poindexter accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Virginia and he played safety for coach George Welsh's Virginia Cavaliers football
The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia (UVA) in the sport of American football. Established in 1887, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the ...
team from 1995 to 1998. He was compared to NFL players such as Ronnie Lott
Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons from 1981 to 1994.
Lott played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and ...
, for his hard-hitting style. As a redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Sports
* Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...
freshman in 1995, Poindexter teamed with fellow defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
Adrian Burnim in one of the most famous plays in Cavalier history as the two stopped Florida State's running back Warrick Dunn
Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL ...
inches from the goal line, defeating the second ranked Seminoles 32-28.[ In 1996, he made a school record with 98 tackles and as a junior in 1997 he finished with 78. As a junior, Poindexter had the choice between declaring himself for the ]1998 NFL draft
The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
or staying in college for his senior year. Draft experts projected that he would likely be drafted in the first round, but Poindexter stayed at Virginia for his senior season but watched his draft stock plummet as injuries corrupted his senior season. The Cavaliers were expected to have a very strong team and were ranked as high as the top ten. In the first seven games of the season, Poindexter made 73 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions.
In a game against N.C. State in 1998, Poindexter made a tackle on wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
Chris Coleman but he twisted his left leg and tore his ACL and two other ligaments. His season at Virginia was over, and possibly his professional career; he could not participate in the NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...
or the Virginia Pro Day.
Poindexter's No. 3 VAjersey was retired on October 10, 2009.
Poindexter was named to the College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
in 2020.
Professional career
His chances of getting drafted were slim and depended on the teams doctors' opinions. The Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
took a chance on Poindexter by drafting him in the seventh round with the 216th overall pick. In his rookie season, he was placed on the injured reserve
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 ...
list, but he returned for the Ravens' championship season in 2000. He played in 10 games on special teams where he caused one forced fumble. He did not play in Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
, however. Shortly after the game, he was released, but was picked up by the Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in June 2001. He was released again in September that same year and never played another NFL game.
Coaching career
After the end of his NFL career in 2001, Poindexter returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant. He eventually made his way up the coaching totem pole and was the safeties coach at the end of his tenure at the University of Virginia.
In 2014, Poindexter accepted a position at the University of Connecticut as the defensive coordinator/safeties coach. Poindexter was dismissed along with the rest of the defensive coaching staff at the end of the 2016 season.
In 2017, Poindexter was hired as the co-defensive coordinator (along with Nick Holt) and safeties coach. Purdue made two bowl games in his tenure as defensive coordinator.
In 2021, Poindexter was hired as safeties coach at Penn State. At the end of the 2023 regular season, PSU defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, left to take the head coaching position at Duke. Poindexter was then appointed as interim co-defensive coordinator for Penn State's appearance in the Peach Bowl.
References
External links
Purdue Boilermakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poindexter, Anthony
1976 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football safeties
Baltimore Ravens players
Cleveland Browns players
Players of American football from Lynchburg, Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football coaches
Virginia Cavaliers football players
UConn Huskies football coaches
Purdue Boilermakers football coaches
College Football Hall of Fame inductees