East Lansing (MI) East Lansing wide receiver Andrel Anthony, Jr. committed to Michigan on Friday evening. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Penn State, among others.
Anthony is listed at 6’2″ and 175 lbs. As a junior in 2019, he caught 54 passes for 973 yards and 9 touchdowns.
RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 77 grade, #111 WR
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #81 WR
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #103 WR
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Anthony was offered early by Michigan, which set the stage for this commitment. Also a pretty good basketball talent, Anthony has also talked to head coach Juwan Howard about potentially contributing on the court. Meanwhile, Michigan State made Anthony a primary target, and it seemed like he would commit to the hometown Spartans, especially once Michigan landed Xavier Worthy at the receiver position. The crystal balls were in favor of MSU until Anthony made a surprise visit to Michigan’s campus last weekend, and then the writing was on the wall.
Anthony is a solid route runner. He makes good adjustments to the ball in the air, and he has the ability to make some acrobatic catches. Showing his basketball skills, he displays an ability to snatch the ball with his hands away from his body. The concept of a jump ball guy is a little overrated, but I do think Anthony can make some of those tough catches, toe-tapping near the sideline or laying out in the endzone.
On the negative side, Anthony is not a very explosive runner, nor is he very physical. He does not create much separation on downfield routes with his speed and is more of an underneath route runner. His running after the catch leaves a little bit to be desired, as he has some short-area quickness but not much ability to break tackles. Blocking doesn’t show up on his highlight reel, so I’m not sure how he fares in that area.
Overall, Anthony is a so-so prospect. When I watch him, I see Ronnie Bell minus the YAC. I like Bell as a player, but if you took away his ability to run through tackles and maintain his balance, whatever remained would be nothing special. With the talent Michigan is bringing in at receiver, I picture Anthony getting lost in the shuffle.
Michigan now has 21 commitments in the 2021 class, including four wide receivers: Anthony, Markus Allen, Xavier Worthy, and Cristian Dixon. The Wolverines have not landed many players from East Lansing High School, but it is the alma mater of the famed voice of Michigan football, Jim Brandstatter. The last EL product to play for the Wolverines was Michael Sullivan in the 1990s.
TTB Rating: 67 (ratings explanation)
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6’2 175lb is THIN
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I think Anthony will be better than expected. I agree that he probably won’t be a NFL-type player but I can see him being a solid Big 10 kid. He’s quick getting off the line and looks like he can setup his 1st move. He’s not going to run by people like he did in high school but he’s not not slow either. It’s a bit deceiving because his 1st steps are very good but long speed is limited which projects him to the slot. His hands look solid but they don’t show you the drops on the highlight videos. I’ve seen Worthy projected there as well. However, I think Anthony is a redshirt and Worthy makes the jump.
The only concern I have is that we have too many WR commits. Will one of them decommit? I can definitely see that as possible I just hope it’s not Worthy. I don’t see a need for 4 WR this cycle.
If I were to give a TTB rating I’d have Anthony at a 74.
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