Family Matters: Kentavion Anderson

Dorman High School’s strength this season outside of their offensive line has been touted as their defensive backfield. A huge part of the success of their secondary rides on senior 4-star Strong Safety/Outside LInebacker Kentavion Anderson – known by those who are closest to him by his nickname “Polo”.

The nickname does have an origin story that goes back a long way. But, not nearly as far back as his love for sports.

“I have been playing sports since I was around 5 years old”, said Anderson. “I started out just running around in the yard with my cousins and it stuck. Football has always been my thing. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, but on the college level, since I am committed to them, of course it is Clemson. As far as the nickname goes, when I was younger, I was always wearing Polo brand clothes. It was all I would rock, so people started calling me Polo – and like my love for football and running, it stuck.”

The most important thing in life for Anderson could not be more evident – family. He is close with his mother and siblings and loves the support they bring.

“My family and I are tight”, said Anderson lovingly. “My mom, my siblings.. They always have my back and are always at my games. My family is also my biggest motivation. I want to make them proud and give them a better life. I am closest with my mom, who is by far my biggest supporter. She is the hardest worker I know, always teaching me to keep God first and be humble. I strive to live by that every day.”

Polo also loves and values the feeling of being a part of a bigger family when it comes to where he goes to school and what he does.

“I like how everybody at Dorman feels like family. The support is real. The same is true for why I chose Clemson. It feels like family and I fit in both on and off the field there”, he said.

Anderson has played under Dorman Head Coach Jake Morris since he got the job in 2023 and has taken one thing away from his tutelage that reflects what he feels are his best character traits – tenacity, determination, and perseverance.

“My best trait is determination. I never quit. I get that from my mother”, said Polo. “Coach Jake preaches about trusting the process all the time. Good things and what you want don’t always happen right away. But if you keep grinding and working at it, eventually it pays off. That is advice I would give to any young athlete that might be reading this. Stay consistent and work hard, even when nobody is looking. Don’t expect everything to happen quickly, but rather just keep working at it.”

Balancing being a good student with being an athlete is never an easy undertaking, but for Anderson, the benefits of successfully finding level ground between the 2 is something that contributes to his drive, which no doubt is paying off with several D1 college offers prior to his commitment to Clemson that included Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Southern Cal, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Liberty, Boston College, Wisconsin, Central Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Michigan, Texas A&M, and South Carolina.

“Being a student-athlete keeps me locked in”, said Kentavion. “Balancing school and football is always easy, but it makes me better. The plan is to play in the NFL. But, I know football is not going to last forever. I want to study business in college so that I have something solid to fall back on after football, regardless of if I go to the NFL or not. I want to run my own business.”

You may be wondering what Anderson does to help keep relaxed when the stresses of balancing family, life, football, and school gets weighing too heavily on his mind. His answer may actually surprise you.

“A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I can draw”, Anderson said. “Any time I need to clear my head, I spend some time drawing. It is a relaxing hobby.”

Riverside High School will have to “draw” up a nice plan to try and mitigate Kentavion’s impact in the game this Friday night as the Warriors come to Roebuck for both squads’ region 2-5A opener. Kickoff is set for 7:30 at Cavalier Stadium.