Southern Miss football coach Blake Anderson made sure his faith was on full display before his team ever took the field Saturday.

As Anderson and the Golden Eagles participated in the traditional “Eagle Walk” to the stadium, the head coach wore a black long-sleeve shirt with a simple message printed in large yellow letters across the chest: “Christ Is King.”

Southern Miss went on to deliver a dominant performance, defeating Alcorn State 49-3. But Anderson’s shirt attracted plenty of attention of its own.

“I’ve had a bunch of people comment, and I’m pleased that it was noticed,” Anderson said during his weekly press conference. “I mean, the whole point of wearing it was for Christ to be glorified and it to be noticed.”

Anderson also expressed appreciation to Southern Miss administrators for allowing him to share his Christian faith in his position openly.

“I’m super grateful for my bosses that allowed me to be religious [and] use my platform to share my faith,” he said. “[That is] not probably an easy decision for an AD and a president. But, you know, those are my views. That’s just me trying to use my platform.”

Anderson went on to describe himself as “saved by grace” and credited God for the opportunities and success he has experienced throughout his coaching career.

The coach acknowledged that publicly expressing his Christian beliefs could have generated criticism. Instead, he said the reaction has been overwhelmingly supportive.

“You never know what kind of response you’re going to get,” Anderson said. “It’s been 99% positive and a few negative, which is what I expected. I wasn’t completely aware of just where it would go.”

For Anderson, however, reaching even one person would make the public declaration worthwhile.

“In my opinion, if it makes one person think, then it was worth it,” he said.

Anderson’s willingness to speak openly about Christianity is nothing new. His faith has also remained central to his life through a series of devastating personal losses.

His wife, Wendy, died from breast cancer in 2019, and his father died soon afterward. Anderson’s son, Cason, died by suicide in 2022. His brother, Bryan, died in 2024 following a lengthy battle with aggressive colon cancer.

Anderson’s close friend and fellow coach Larry Fedora has said Anderson “wouldn’t have been able to survive if he didn’t have such a strong faith.”

The coach himself has repeatedly pointed to Christ when discussing both his career and the hardships he has endured.

“I’m a Christian before I’m anything else,” Anderson told reporters in 2020. “I love the Lord, and I feel like God put me in coaching.”

Five years later, his message remained the same.

“My faith comes from Christ, not from me,” Anderson said in a 2025 interview with Football Scoop. “I’m not tough enough, I’m not big enough to do this on my own.”

Now at Southern Miss, Anderson is once again using football as a platform for the faith he says defines him — this time with three words that were difficult to miss: “Christ Is King.”