Courtney Jerome Anderson Sr. (born November 19, 1980) is a former

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. Born in

Greenville, Texas Greenville ( ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in Northeast Texas approximately northeast of Dallas, Texas, Dallas and northwest of Canton, Texas, Canton. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, Anderson attended high school in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

, and 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 Contra Costa College and

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 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 from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

and spent three seasons with that team. Later, he was a member of the

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

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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He is currently a firefighter for the community of Milpitas, CA.

Early life and college career

Born in

, Anderson graduated from Richmond High School in California, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field. In the football team, Anderson was quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive linebacker in the football team. In 1998, he caught 50 passes for 1,005 yards, scored 12 touchdowns, and earned all-state honors. Anderson was a member of the 1999 Richmond Oilers basketball team coached by Ken Carter that was dramatized in the movie '' Coach Carter''. For two years, Anderson attended Contra Costa College. In football, he lined up at

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 ...

before moving to

. He then transferred to

where, in 23 games, hauled in 36 passes for 477 yards (13.3 avg.) and seven touchdowns. He also majored in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Anderson was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round (245th overall) of the

. In his rookie season, he made 13 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown in nine games (four of which he started); he left Week 9 with an ankle injury. The next season, Anderson played in 14 games, of which he started in 13, and caught 24 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. In his three seasons with Oakland, Anderson had 62 receptions for 763 yards and six touchdowns and occasionally caught passes deep midfield. The Raiders released Anderson before the 2007 preseason.

Miami Dolphins

Anderson went to training camp with the

in 2007 but was released on September 1, 2007.

Detroit Lions

Anderson was signed by the

on September 24, 2007, to replace the injured starter

Dan Campbell Daniel Allen Campbell (born April 13, 1976) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 11 seasons. Campb ...

, whose starting position was taken by Sean McHugh. He played two games with the Lions and then was cut on October 28, 2007.

Atlanta Falcons

The

claimed Anderson off waivers on November 13, 2007, from the Lions.

Buffalo Bills

Anderson signed with the

on March 10, 2008, but was released on August 30 during final cuts.

Houston Texans

After spending the 2008 regular season out of football, Anderson was signed to a future contract by the

on January 5, 2009. He was waived by the team on April 30.

References

External links

San Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Courtney 1980 births Living people American football tight ends Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Contra Costa Comets football players Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Greenville, Texas Players of American football from Richmond, California San Jose State Spartans football players Richmond High School (Richmond, California) alumni