Former Jonesboro-Hodge High School star football player, Scotty Anderson, has been enshrined into the Grambling State University Hall of Fame as a member of the Legends Class of 2024.
The Jackson Parish Sports Hall of Fame member was officially inducted along with eleven more for GSU standout, during a ceremony at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the GSU campus on Saturday, July 13th.
Joining Anderson in the Legends’ Class of 2024 includes football standouts Glynn Alexander, Aldrich Allen, Herman Arvie, along with Arlester Brown, a World War II Purple Heart winner after playing running back for the Tigers.
Basketball stars Napoleon Johnson and Elsie Dillard were also honored, along with Michael Cummings and Robert Williams from baseball, and track and field competitors Ainsley Armstrong and Gail Emmanuel. Former World Famed Grambling Tiger Marching Band director Larry Pannell will be spotlighted in the contributor category.
The 1996-97 All-District performer from Jonesboro-Hodge High School, Scotty Anderson, holds high school records for all-time single season and career catches and career receiving yards and was highly ranked in single game, season and career records.
Born on November 24, 1979, to Austin and Katie Anderson of Jonesboro, Scotty came into a family of competitive siblings. His brothers (Anthony and Stevie), who were also star football players at JHHS, GSU and played in the NFL, laid the foundation on which the youngest one of them was to build.
Leaving high school, he embarked on an impressive journey as a member of the Grambling State University Tiger football team. During his time as a Tiger, he developed into the team’s all-time career leader with 195 receptions for 3,334 yards (17.1 avg.) and 35 touchdowns. Scotty also became the only player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a season twice (1999-2000).
Anderson was an All-American first-team selection by The Associated Press, The Sports Network, Sports Xchange, Sheridan Broadcasting Network and Black College Sports in 2000, as well as, being an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first-team choice after he broke his own singled season school season records (from 1999) with 76 receptions for 1,298 yards.
In 2001, Anderson was a 5th round selection of the Detroit Lions where he played from 2001-2003 with them before signing contracts with the Arizona Cardinals (2004) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2005. During his NFL career he compiled statistics of 54 receptions for 858 yards and 4 touchdowns.
His NFL career was followed by a stint in the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he played for the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers before ending his seven year, professional career with the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League (AFL)in 2007.
Special thanks to JHHS alum and LSWA Hall of Fame sports writer, Doug Ireland, who is also a writer and Director of Content for Journal Services LLC which includes the Jackson Parish Journal, for contributions to this article.