Troy Andersen (born April 23, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Montana State where previously played quarterback, running back and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

for them before moving to linebacker. He was named a FCS All-American and the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year in 2021.

Early life and high school

Andersen was born on April 23, 1999, and grew up on his family's cattle ranch in Dillon, Montana. He attended Beaverhead County High School, where he played quarterback and safety for their football team, as well as on their basketball and track teams. As a senior, Andersen was named first-team All-State at quarterback and safety, as well as the Montana Defensive Player of the Year, after he passed for 1,403 yards, rushed for 877 yards, and scored 30 total touchdowns on offense and had 71 tackles with three interceptions and two fumbles recovered on defense while Beaverhead won the Class A state championship.

College career

Andersen started games at both running back and linebacker as a true freshman and was named the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year after rushing for 515 yards and five touchdowns with seven receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown on offense and recording nine tackles with one sack on defense. He moved to quarterback before his sophomore season after two-year starter Chris Murray was ruled academically ineligible to play. Andersen completed 115 of 208 passes for 1,195 yards with three touchdowns and seven interceptions and also rushed for 1,412 yards and a school-record 21 touchdowns and was named first-team All-Big Sky. Andersen moved back to linebacker and also played fullback as a junior. He was named first-team all-conference after finishing the season with 54 tackles, 11.5 for loss, and 6.5 sacks with one interception and five passes broken up. Andersen redshirted his senior season while recovering from injuries. As a redshirt senior, Andersen was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and was the runner-up for the

Buck Buchanan Award The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was d ...

. Andersen played in the

2022 Senior Bowl The 2022 Senior Bowl was a college football all-star game played on February 5, 2022, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2022 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), predominantly ...

Professional career

Andersen was drafted in the second round with the 58th overall pick by the

in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. The Falcons previously obtained the pick in the trade that sent Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. Andersen made his season debut in Week 2 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. In Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers, Andersen made his first professional start, where had a season-high 13 tackles in the 28–14 win.

Personal life

Andersen is a cousin of Major League Baseball pitcher

Codi Heuer Codi Dalton Heuer (born July 3, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wichita State University. He previously played for the Chicago White Sox. ...

. His father played college basketball at Eastern Oregon University, while his sister ran track at Montana State. Andersen graduated from Montana State with a degree in agricultural business in May 2021.

References

Notes

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioMontana State Bobcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Troy 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Montana People from Dillon, Montana American football linebackers American football quarterbacks American football fullbacks Montana State Bobcats football players Atlanta Falcons players