Safety Jesse Anderson Primed to Make On-Field Impact in 2025 | Pitt All 105

All 105 is a Pittsburgh Sports Now series profiling each member of the Pitt 2025 training camp roster. In order to prepare for Pitt football’s 2025 season, PSN is breaking down every player on the roster in alphabetical order. Next up is safety Jesse Anderson.

Over the years, Pitt football has seamlessly transitioned from one safety bound for the National Football League to the next.

Most recently, Donovan McMillon signed a deal with the Cleveland Browns and P.J. O’Brien is still looking to land his own rookie contract after attending the Pittsburgh Steelers’ minicamp.

It’s just another example of Pitt’s development at the safety position. With McMillon and O’Brien out the door, Cruce Brookins is expected to slide in as a starter next to veteran returnee Javon McIntyre.

However, there is a need for the next safety to be bred in Pitt’s defense and Jesse Anderson is ready to grab that opportunity and emerge as the next playmaking safety.

Anderson has been a name that Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and others have praised over the past few camps as a young talent who is making plays. Now, the ball is in the redshirt sophomore’s court to cement his role in the Pitt secondary.

Cruce Brookins (12), Jesse Anderson (16) at the Pitt spring game on April 12, 2025 — Ed Thompson / PSN

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 185 pounds
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

2024 season: Anderson saw the field in all 13 games as a reserve safety and in a special teams role.

Stats: Last season, Anderson logged nine total tackles with a career-best four against Louisville.

Camp outlook: Entering spring, Anderson was a defensive player that PSN looked at as a potential riser and from the sounds of it, he did. For fall camp, it’s a matter of taking yet another step forward and molding into a viable option in the safety rotation to log a higher volume of snaps as he battles with UC Davis transfer Kavir Bains-Marquez for the third safety in the group.

Projected role: Anderson will find himself on the two-deep this fall as the understudy to McIntyre at strong safety. He could also be utilized in Pitt’s third-down delta package in which they replace a lineman with an extra defensive back, which usually ends up being a safety.

Anderson plays with a physical edge as a hard-hitting tackler and has the speed to track down players from sideline to sideline. He’s the prototypical Pitt safety that can thrive in the defense over the next few seasons starting with 2025.

A quote about Anderson: “Cruce and Jesse are having a great first two days of practice. First two days of practice, they’re playing fast, playing mentally sharp. They’re both doing that and they’re both playing at a high level right now. They’re going to continue to get better, continue to compete throughout the spring, so it will be good to see the battles and see the plays they make throughout the rest of the spring,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said back in March.