Michigan football: Andrel Anthony isn't just the future, he's a big part of the present

Michigan football freshman wide receiver Andrel Anthony enjoyed a breakout performance in the Wolverines’ 37-33 loss at Michigan State last Saturday, registering six catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

The Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week made a play for the ages on the team’s third offensive snap, running a 12-yard dig, nabbing a nice ball thrown by redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara and taking it the distance for a 93-yard score, the second-longest passing play in program history.

“It was kinda funny because I was looking up at the jumbotron while I was running, because I wasn’t going to look back,” Anthony said. “I saw [the defender] was within close distance, but I was like, ‘If I get caught, I probably shouldn’t be on the field anymore.’ It’s just bad.

“I had that in my mind while I was running, and it’s an unexplainable experience. I couldn’t feel my body; I was just moving.”

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Dating back to the spring, head coach Jim Harbaugh has said Anthony makes one big play per practice, raving about what the 6-2, 185-pounder could become.

But it was the in-between that was holding him back and keeping him off the field for the beginning stages of his freshman season. Anthony had played just 40 total snaps through six games, and was a healthy scratch in two of those contests.

“I’ve made plays consistently, but I’d say just the amount and the plays [have increased],” Anthony said of what has led him to greater opportunity.

“[Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach] Coach [Josh] Gattis always talks about how we need to make contested catches, catches with people in our face. In practice I’ve really stepped up in making those, deep balls, intermediate catches, stuff like that. So I feel like [I’m] being a more complete receiver.

“When I got here, I was terrible at blocking. I really worked on that, because coming in, I knew it was my weakness. The coaches got on me about it and helped me a lot.”

How Andrel Anthony Rose From Reserve To Michigan Football’s Rotation

For those retroactively complaining that he hadn’t seen much action earlier in the season, even he went almost as far to say he wasn’t ready. It’s been a progression, but he’s done a great job in accelerating it.

“To have that performance, it showed that what I’ve been doing has paid off a lot,” he said. “The extra work — learning about the plays, coverages — my investment has paid off, for sure.”

The weight room and a healthy diet has helped his rise, too. He came in at around 176 pounds, but now he’s up to 185 and hasn’t lost any speed.

“I was kind of hesitant to gain weight at first, because I didn’t want to lose speed and not be as dynamic,” Anthony said. But I got with Abigail [O’Connor], our nutritionist. She’s really helped me put on lean mass.

“In the weight room, as well, I’ve improved a lot. I didn’t know I had fat coming in. I had like five pounds of fat. And then when we got back at the end of spring, I lost a pound and a half of fat and gained like six pounds of muscle.

“It was pretty to see the results that fast. I can really tell I’m getting stronger in the weight room, and it’s definitely paying off on the field because I’m not going down on the sideline, stuff like that.”

A month ago, the strength of his game was running deep routes and making occasional plays down the field in practice. When asked what his top attribute is as a player now, he fumbles with his words, searching for the ones to describe a receiver that can do much more than he’s ever been able to.

“Now, I’ve really been working to be balanced,” Anthony explained. “Not like, ‘You can only do this and we can only put you in, in this position.’

“I was working on intermediate stuff, making people miss in the open field, breaking tackles, blocking and really making explosive plays … Like the 93-yard touchdown, I caught it at 12 yards and then ran. Just making more plays after the catch. 

“Strength? I don’t know, because I’m really trying to work on everything.”

The Right Guy At The Right Time For Michigan Football

The improvement he’s made is exactly what Michigan football needed, too, with dwindling depth at wideout. Junior Ronnie Bell is out for the season with a knee injury, and second-year freshman Roman Wilson has been limited with a wrist injury.

On the outside, sophomore Cornelius Johnson leads the group with 348 receiving yards, but he hasn’t been as reliable as he was expected to before the season, and redshirt junior Jackson State transfer Daylen Baldwin has been solid but not explosive.

Anthony is quick, fast, possesses good instincts and has great ball skills. The way he creates separation is welcomed among a group that has failed to manufacture enough of it this season.

Coming off the bye week, Anthony played significant snaps (36) for the first time in his career against Northwestern. He had one rush for six yards in a precursor to his breakthrough game.

Last Monday during Michigan football’s walkthrough, Anthony had a sense of what his role would be for the game against the Spartans, in his hometown of East Lansing.

“I realized that I was going to have a big part in this game,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to be that big, but I knew I was going to have a shot to make plays and capitalize on that.

“The whole week, I was kind of preparing like a homecoming; that was my thing for the week.”

He played 72 snaps in the contest, almost as many as the 76 he had seen action on entering the day.

Anthony’s second touchdown was thrown by freshman backup signal-caller J.J. McCarthy, a 17-yard score. The two, along with freshman running back Donovan Edwards and others, have created a rapport from their famous late-night practice sessions when they return home from road games.

“When we have away games and we get back and throw afterwards, he’ll work on back-shoulder passes, high catches, low catches, anything,” Anthony explained. “So I had a flashback while we were doing that in the game. I was like, ‘OK, this is like just after Wisconsin.’ 

“The connection we have already is amazing. It’s just going to continue to grow.”

Downplaying his performance, Anthony said he simply stepped up when his name was called. In doing that, he’s ensured that his name becomes a mainstay in the lineup and in the mind of McNamara and Co. His snaps, targets and production will only go up from here.

Despite his individual achievement, he’s disappointed in Michigan football’s loss, but encouraged about the future.

“I wish stuff went a lot different in the second half,” Anthony said of the third and fourth quarters in which the Wolverines were outscored, 23-10. “I’m happy about it, but I’m not satisfied at all. I always look at what I could’ve done differently. Like a different play — extending the play, cutting back, stuff like that.”

It’ll take some help from Michigan State’s opponents, along with an unblemished final four regular-season tilts, for Michigan football to accomplish its goal of making the Big Ten title game. But the Maize and Blue insist they’re up for the task, striving not to let the Spartans beat them twice, with Indiana on the clock.

“When we got back in the locker room, everybody was pretty upset, obviously,” Anthony revealed. “Everybody was saying our season’s not over. We’ve got one loss. We’ve got to win out from here on out, because Ohio State has one loss, and they’re being talked about for the playoffs still.

“So we control our own destiny. We just have to stay positive, keep the same mindset we had when we were winning, we’ll be alright.”

Except now, they’ve got another weapon to work with.