
Callaway’s Xavious Anderson has committed to play his college football for coach Major Applewhite and the South Alabama Jaguars. Anderson heads to Mobile to join a program coming off the best three-year stretch in school history.
Anderson is coming off a junior season in which he helped the Cavaliers reach their 19th straight playoff appearance and their 13th straight season with a playoff win. As the leader of the defense, Anderson helped the team allow just 18.67 points per game. After a 0-2 start to the season, Callaway won nine straight games, including eight in a row to end the regular season, highlighted by a massive 33-26 win over then-No. 2-ranked and region rival Morgan County to secure the team’s third straight region title and fifth in the past six years.
They head into the 2025 season with high expectations. While the 2024 season was solid, the team fell short of its lofty standards. The Cavaliers are just five years removed from a state title, and last year marked the first time since 2015 that they did not make the quarterfinals or better. This year, they will once again be one of the favorites in Class 2A. However, they’ll have to unseat defending state champions, a favorite to repeat, Carver-Columbus.
The Jaguars have become one of the top programs in the Sun Belt Conference in recent years. Over the past three seasons, South Alabama is one of only two schools to post three consecutive winning seasons, including the program’s only 10-win season in 2022. Anderson is one of 16 commits the Jaguars have already received in the class of 2026. The class is currently ranked No. 2 in the Sun Belt.
Anderson is a long and versatile linebacker who fits the mold of the prototypical inside linebacker. Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 215 pounds, he has the size coaches look for. While he isn’t a dominant pass rusher, he excels in run defense and is a solid zone coverage defender with room to grow.