Mark Anderson attended Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he played football and basketball. As a senior, Mark served as a team captain on the football team, helping the team to an 11-2 record. He totaled 104 tackles and 9 sacks on defense that year. He also caught 9 passes on offense, three of which went for touchdowns. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Alabama where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. Mark saw action in every game as a reserve defensive lineman in 2002, finishing with 13 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles on the year. The following spring, Mark was named “most improved defensive lineman”. He started six games as a sophomore, totaling 2 ˝ sacks and a career high 47 tackles. By his junior year, Mark was the fulltime starter at his defensive end position. He racked up 41 tackles, 1 ˝ sacks and 2 forced fumbles on the year. As a senior he totaled 40 tackles, 1 forced fumble and a career high 7 ˝ sacks.

Mark Anderson has a great deal of experience against top competition, having started at defensive end for the Crimson Tide for the better part of the past three seasons. During that time he has proven to be a very durable player, starting all 29 games since becoming a full-time starter late in his sophomore year. He is an extremely hard worker with a non-stop motor. He is a good pass rusher who has a quick first step and good closing speed getting to the quarterback. He is an instinctive player who displays very good technique. He has been a solid run defender in college; however, he does have problems shedding blocks of larger offensive linemen at times. He lacks ideal size and will need to bulk up and increase his strength to be an every down defensive end at the professional level. Mark Anderson is a “tweener” who could be shifted to outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme, depending on which team drafts him. He has a chance to be a late first or early second day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.