BOBCATS 125: Jim Anderson
6/1/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
A Butte product, Jim Anderson was one of the most productive safeties in Bobcat history
Jim Anderson, S, 1979-82
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1981, 2nd Team All-Big Sky in 1982
A CLOSER LOOK: In a very real way, Montana State free safety Jim Anderson had a front-row seat to the passing explosion that overtook college football when the 1970s turned to the 1980s.
Spurred by an alteration in blocking rules, the Big Sky was one of the frontiers of passing innovation in Division I, led by Dave Kragthorpe's short, controlled, two-back passing attack at Idaho State (which was born under LaVelle Edwards at BYU). Utilizing that scheme, the Bengals won the 1981 National Championship.. In a localized sense, Bobcat opponents threw the ball 276 times in 1977, 260 times in 1978, 208 times in 1979, 221 times in 1980, 278 times in 1981, and in 1982 Bobcat foes threw it 379 times, completing 215 of those passes.
In the midst of all that, Anderson starred. He won the starting job at free safety in 1980 as a sophomore, and logged 72 tackles with three interceptions that season to earn Honorable Mention All-Big Sky honors. One season later he recorded 78 tackles, and his eight interceptions tied Bob Banaugh's school record and were fourth-most in Division I-AA that year. He earned honorable mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky honors that season, and as a senior earned 2nd Team All-Big Sky kudos when he logged 84 tackles and five interceptions.
Anderson, a Butte native who started throughout his final three seasons at MSU, finished his career with a a school record tying 16 interceptions. He held a share of MSU's season and career interception records for more than a decade, and he compiled those totals before the nearly universal explosion of passing offenses. Teammates and former coaches remember Anderson as a smart, instinctive player with excellent ball skills, and his statistics assuredly back those assertions.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT ASSISTANT COACH GREG SALO: "Jimmy Anderson was a free safety, and at that time he was the best defensive back in the Big Sky. He was very solid. He had very, very good football instincts. He could get to the ball. He was really good at determining whether it was pass or run."
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