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Mississippi State

100-Day Bulldog Countdown: 91 Days, No. 91 DE Deonte Anderson

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•05/31/25•

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Mississippi State DE Deonte Anderson (Photo by Matt Bush, USA Today Sports)

Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.

After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.

As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.

Today, we’re taking a look at a veteran defensive lineman.

91 Days: No. 91, Senior Defensive End Deonte Anderson

The final season of Anderson’s career is on the way in 2025 and the Florida native is looking to go out with his best year to date.

Anderson came to Starkville highly touted as a four-star All-American in the class of 2021. The Fort Meade standout had 32 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

Offers came in throughout the year from Penn State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Boston College, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Nebraska and others, but State would emerge in his recruitment midway through the year.  Behind the scenes, the Bulldogs would sign Anderson in December, but he would hold his commitment for the next month.

Anderson would eventually announce that pledge to the Bulldogs in January at the All-American Bowl and he would enroll in Starkville in the summer. State picked up a commitment from a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 202 player overall. He was the No. 14 Edge rusher in the country and the No. 25 player in the state of Florida as big things were expected from Anderson moving forward in his career.

After redshirting his first season and playing in just five games with two tackles in 2022, Anderson got some action as a redshirt sophomore two seasons ago. He played in all 12 games on the defensive line under Zach Arnett’s leadership and made 38 tackles with four pass deflections, 3.0 sacks, a forced fumble and a 0.5 sack.

Last year was supposed to be a breakthrough season for Anderson with the combination of his veteran leadership and the lack of depth up front, but he wasn’t able to make as much of an impact. Despite playing in 11 games, his production went down with 18 tackles, 2.5 TFL and 0.5 sack.

Heading into his senior year, the 6’3, 280 pounder has a chance to have a bigger season. The Bulldogs have a defensive front filled with a lot of newer faces and bigger bodies than last year, but Anderson is now in year five in Starkville. We’ll see if he rises to the occasion.

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