The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 52 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 STATISTICS Year Rec. Yards TD 2020 28 508 3 2019 54 954 9 2018 33 543 7 HONORS • Named to the Detroit Free Press Dream Team and tabbed first-team All-State by the Associated Press (AP) and the Michigan High School Foot- ball Coaches Association (MHSFCA) as a senior. • Also earned all-state honors from the AP, MHSFCA and Detroit Free Press as a junior, when he set single-season school records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. RECRUITMENT • Committed July 31, 2020. • Also held offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wis- consin and others. • Recruited by offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and then-tight ends coach Sherrone Moore. DID YOU KNOW? • Set East Lansing High School's all- time record for receiving with 2,005 career yards. • Was also a standout basketball player in high school and had U-M head coach Juwan Howard interested in his services. • Enrolled early at U-M. THEY SAID IT • Michigan head coach Jim Har- baugh: "He's a tremendous player. He lights up the room with his enthu- siasm for other people. You see the smile and the energy, whether on the basketball court or the football field. You really see the energy, the enthu- siasm — and the athletic ability just pops. He was also somebody we saw in camp multiple times. I've known him for a very long time. … I like ev- erything about Andrel Anthony." BY AUSTIN FOX Michigan signed three wideouts in its 2021 class, in Fresno (Calif.) Cen- tral East four-star Xavier Worthy, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star Cris- tian Dixon and East Lansing (Mich.) High three-star Andrel Anthony. Though the former two have re- ceived most of the fanfare, Anthony turned a few heads in mid-January when it was revealed the Michigan coaches had awarded him the No. 1 jersey. The uniform has typically been re- served for the best of the best to ever play wide receiver in Ann Arbor (Anthony Carter, Braylon Ed- wards, David Terrell, etc.). It's no surprise Anthony has em- braced the expecta- tions that come with it, especially when considering how high he has always set the bar for himself. "Andrel was al- ways talking about how he was going to go on to be a Division I athlete back when he was in junior high," recalled Nate Schafer, the founder of the 3D Athletes training program in Lansing who has been working with Anthony since the wideout was in seventh grade. "At the time, Andrel would say how he was going to play in the NBA or NFL someday, though the sport seemed to vary from week to week. "He was big into track as well, so he's always had goals and aspirations to get to the level he's at right now." Anthony wound up playing both football and basketball at East Lan- sing, displaying a relentless work ethic along the way. "He's an extremely determined kid," Schafer noted. "Andrel is also very helpful and wants to see every- one around him be successful. The sky is the limit if he continues to put his mind to what he's doing and trust in both his abilities and in himself. "There's nothing that can stop him if he does that." Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gat- tis' philosophy since he arrived in Ann Arbor prior to the 2019 season has been "speed in space," and the 6-2, 180-pound Anthony fits that mantra. "Andrel comes in and out of his breaks very well," Schafer explained. "He plays fast and has game speed. The ability to get from Point A to Point B quickly is what he excels at, and that's such an important quality nowadays. "He has the talent to excel at a high level, so it'll next be about trusting his abilities and the process, and going through the grind that comes with be- ing at a big-time school." Plenty of discussion throughout An- thony's recruitment surrounded the way Michigan was able to snatch him out of Michigan State's backyard, de- spite the fact that his high school was just a five-minute drive from Spartan Stadium. Schafer said there was undoubtedly pressure for Anthony to sign with MSU, though it was "something he didn't talk about much." "Andrel has always loved Michigan and grew up a U-M fan," Schafer said. "His family loved the school as well, and they all like Coach [Jim] Harbaugh a lot. "He ultimately felt like Michigan was the best decision for him and rolled with it." ❑ Relentless Work Ethic, Lofty Goals Define Andrel Anthony Anthony has already been awarded the No. 1 jersey, typically reserved for the best of the best at wide receiver in Ann Arbor, such as Anthony Carter, Braylon Edwards and David Terrell. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 Projection U-M returns productive receivers such as redshirt junior Ronnie Bell and redshirt sophomore Cornelius Johnson, making it a tough task for Anthony to see a significant amount of snaps right away. However, his 6-2 height and ability to catch the ball downfield may help him see the field in 2021, considering the Wol- verines return just one wideout who is taller than 6-feet and failed to cre- ate many explosive plays last season. ANDREL ANTHONY WIDE RECEIVER 6-2 • 180 EAST LANSING H.S. LANSING, MICH. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 77 16 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 69 13 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 115 17