Southern Miss Football Coach Makes Faith Declaration Ahead of Game
Blake Anderson stood at the podium during his weekly press conference and said he felt pleased that people had noticed the shirt he wore before the game. He had chosen it so that Christ would be glorified and the message would stand out as the team moved through the Eagle Walk on campus. The shirt was black with yellow letters across the chest. Anderson led the University of Southern Mississippi players toward the stadium that way on the day they faced Alcorn State University. The team finished the afternoon with a 49-3 victory. Anderson told reporters he was grateful his athletic director and university president had let him use his position to share his beliefs openly. He described himself as saved by grace and said God deserved credit for whatever success he had reached in coaching. Online reactions came in quickly after photos of the shirt spread. Anderson noted that nearly all of them were positive, with only a small number of negative comments, which matched what he had expected. He added that the effort would be worthwhile if it caused even one person to pause and reflect. Anderson has spoken about his faith in public settings for several years. When he coached at Utah State in 2020 he told reporters he was a Christian before anything else and believed God had placed him in coaching. Five years later he told Football Scoop that his faith came from Christ and that he could not handle his responsibilities without it. Anderson has faced repeated losses in recent years. His wife Wendy died of breast cancer in 2019. His father passed away soon afterward. His son Cason died in 2022 and his brother Bryan died in 2024 after fighting colon cancer. A longtime friend, Larry Fedora, said Anderson would not have made it through without a strong faith. Anderson continues to coach at Southern Miss and keeps the same approach to his public role. He has said his views remain unchanged and that he plans to keep looking for ways to point others toward the source of his strength.
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