Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2025
How does one determine a leader? Is it one who brings the same insatiable attitude to improve, no matter the circumstance or situation? How about someone who speaks through their actions rather than words? Or, is it someone who sacrifices to lay the foundation for the future? When it came to Anthony Rabb, he was all the above, transcending himself, and Troy football, to a legendary level.
“Every time you look at a leader, you want to be able to trust them,” teammate from 1997-99 and friend Eric Sloan said. “He put us in the best place to succeed. You want to put your team and teammates in the best position to succeed. And that was through him. He was the CEO for us, and when he made the call, we trusted him and did what we needed to do. The coaches gave him free rein, and he did it right. There was a sense of camaraderie and a sense of accountability and responsibility. He instilled trust throughout the defense and kept us accountable. It all came together, and we did that day in and day out.”
From Prichard, Ala., Rabb came to Troy and set the standard on and off the field. He set his sights on keeping himself locked in no matter the circumstance, whether keeping good grades in the classroom or challenging the status quo as an undersized linebacker.
“Outside the football field, he was a leader in all facets,” Sloan said. “He was a leader in the classroom. Even as a freshman, Rabb came in and was a pure student of the game. He was also Troy’s Ray Lewis in his collegiate and professional career. The only difference was the height challenge. He was Carlton Martial before Martial.”
Rabb set the standard not only for the Trojans but for the Southland Conference as a whole. In 1999, Rabb saw all the hard work and dedication pay off by earning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. That season saw Rabb cement himself in the Troy record books with a pair of top 10 performances for the most tackles in a Troy game (Texas State – 18, Middle Tennessee – 23) to end with 155 total tackles for second in program history.
The payoff wasn’t without the journey as he consistently demonstrated to his teammates and coaches raw discipline on the field, which allowed him to be a rare exception when the team watched film after the games.
“We had different film rooms for each position, and ours was right next to the linebackers,” Sloan said. “We had a little divide, but as we looked at the film, we could hear what was happening on the other side of the divider. You can just hear the coach going off on the players, but then you’d hear him compliment and go ‘Great job, Rabb.”
1999 saw Rabb gain immortality among the Troy faithful in a matchup with Middle Tennessee State. The record, as many great moments, wasn’t made in a single day. It was created by countless hours of spilling his blood, sweat and tears. Hours that allowed Rabb to have the fourth-most tackles in a Troy career with 407 as well as the eighth-most tackles for loss (33.5), 11th-most yards from TFLs (147) and 14th-most yards from quarterback sacks (92) while leading the program in tackles in all three of his seasons as a Trojan.
However, the thing many will remember within the program was a single moment in a huddle against an offense that was starting to change the game of football as we know it. A moment that saw a flip switch into arguably the greatest individual performance in Troy history: the most tackles in a single game (23).
“That game against Middle Tennessee State was set up with Cincinnati, where we fared well against a team that was supposed to pay to beat the crap out of us,” Sloan said. “Then, we had Middle Tennessee State, who was new to the level, and they were an air-raid offense. They were exactly that, making plays early on, and we weren’t doing well. But we had a come to Jesus moment in the huddle, and Rabb spoke. He wasn’t an outspoken man, but when he spoke, you listened. And we buckled down and fixed it because of him. And he did his job, setting the tone with an unforgettable performance.”
Leadership from Rabb came no different, whether it was a typical non-conference game or the NCAA D-I-IAA First Round. And that consistency from Rabb led Troy into a 27-7 victory over James Madison in his lone postseason win after being crowned the 1999 Southland Conference Champions.
