BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic defensive tackle Evan Anderson continues to stand out in preseason practice, improving with every snap. But when the Owls open his 2022 season, fans may not be aware of him.
Anderson has lost 40 pounds since first arriving on campus, according to an FAU spokesperson. He went from his 370 pounds to his 330 pounds.
Anderson said shedding weight prepared her for the season and possibly long term.
“This year is different defensively in terms of planning and forwarding,” said Anderson. It’s more of a single gap this year, and we’re fighting furiously. So it has more movement. I’m not just sitting in the gap and he’s dealing with the two of us.
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“So the weight loss helped a lot with this plan.”
FAU head coach Willie Taggart has praised Anderson since the spring.
“It’s really great to see him grow since he came in. He came in and played good as a freshman and ran really well, but it’s great to see him change his body. “I like to use Evan as an example to many young players on how to develop as a student-athlete. He’s going to have a really great year this season.” Let’s go
Anderson said a key component of his weight loss journey was making drastic changes to his diet and the workouts he did at FAU, and he has never run more in his life.
He said he had always planned to lose weight, but needed support from the FAU people.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about since high school. I just finally got the right program,” Anderson said. “I was trying to do it myself. I thought eating a salad would straighten it out, but putting all the ranch on would balance it out.”
His diet is simple: meat and vegetables. However, he said he had a cheat day, mostly during breakfast, as he said it was his favorite meal of the day.
Taggart may have had additional motivation as he speculated on Anderson’s play potential, despite playing well at his previous weight. Last season, he was named to his second team in the All-Conference USA by his PFF and was named honorable mention by the conference itself. 42 tackles, 1 sack.
“Even when he got big, he was still a good footballer,” Taggart said. Just imagine, he lost weight but got stronger while doing it, and I didn’t want to go against him.”
Since arriving in 2020, Anderson has been one of the team’s most disruptive defensive linemen while lining up as nose tackle.
Todd Orlando, the FAU’s first-year defensive coordinator, was not here last season, but he noted Anderson’s changes and said he would be the focus.
“He did a great job with his body. “We move him around a lot. We’ll probably do some things he hasn’t done in the past, but with this package that we’re running, it’s great that he has the extra athleticism.” I think it will help.”
Taggart emphasized that Anderson was one of the team’s leaders and improved his mental toughness. He recalled that the FAU lost four in a row falling to Central Tennessee in the 2021 regular season finale, failing to get the bowl bid Anderson spoke about.
“It was one of the turning points for our football team and got us to where we are today,” Taggart said. They were meant to be like that, they weren’t meant to be here anymore.
“And for me it was like, ‘Damn, why did you wait so long to do this? But I’m glad he did it. ”
