MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you've watched a Memphis Football game this season, one thing has become abundantly clear - if Mario Anderson Jr. has the ball in his hands, good things will follow.
But his stellar cuts on the field pale in comparison to his cuts off of it.
Anderson started cutting hair in the Summer of 2019 when the running back was getting ready to walk-on at Division 2 school Newberry College.
“My mom had to pay for school, so I just wanted to learn how to cut hair so I had extra money in my pocket," Anderson said.
At first that meant practicing on friends and family for free.
“I didn’t butcher their head but you could definitely tell it was my first time cutting hair," Anderson said.
By his junior year, Anderson was far from a butcher. He'd transformed into a barber that was cutting not just his teammates and coaches hair, but the city of Newberry's too.
“That’s really how I made my mark cutting hair," Anderson said.
While Anderson was carving 50-60 heads a week, he was also carving it up on the field. In his four years as a Wolf, Anderson rushed for more than 3,300 yards, the third most in school history, scored 35 touchdowns and was a two-time first team all-conference performer.
Anderson chose to bet on himself and spend last season in the SEC as a Gamecock where he led the team with over 700 yards on the ground.
The South Carolina native then transferred to Memphis for his last year of eligibility. Which meant the Tigers got the definition of a two-for-one deal, someone who makes them look fresh both on and off the field.
Anderson estimates he's cutting 10 different people's hair on the team. One of those heads is defensive lineman Devin Baldwin who in the early goings of the haircut ranked Anderson in his top five all-time barbers, but by the end, Anderson had climbed to top three.
"I take pride in being able to really transform how his haircut looks and you know when he goes and looks in the bathroom and look in the mirror and just you know smile and give me that nod that makes me feel happy," Anderson said.
The guy known affectionately as Super Mario isn't just making people smile because of how he's shaping heads, but also because of how he's shaping this Memphis football season.
Anderson has already produced 972 total yards and 14 touchdowns - to help guide the Tigers to a 7-1 record and keep the door open for a lot more.
“I know Seth’s (Henigan) goal for being a starter here for four years is to win a conference championship so I want to be able to help my teammate and quarterback accomplish his dream as well as going to the playoffs, because I do feel like we have a shot at going to the playoffs, so that’s where my focus is at right now," Anderson said.
While Anderson's focus is on the present, he hopes being fifth in the nation for rushing touchdowns and 18th in yards will mean his future is in the NFL.
No matter what happens with football, Anderson hopes to one day open his own barbershop where both men and women can get their hair done.
"I think sometimes a lot of people get lost in their football identity and they don’t know who they are as a person or what they want to do but just learning a trade like cutting hair you’ll never not have money," Anderson said.
The hope for Anderson is that his barber shop doesn't just shape people's heads but their lives too.
“Barbers they used to teach life lessons opposed to just cutting your hair they tried to help the youth and stuff like that," Anderson said. "I feel like a lot of barbers have lost their ways as far as helping people out and being a sense of community especially for the black community which is something I want to bring back especially for our community.”
Anderson and the Tigers play at UTSA Saturday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m.