Rising junior wide receiver Andrel Anthony has decided to take his talents elsewhere, announcing an entrance into the transfer portal on Wednesday.
Anthony was a 3-star, the #81 wide receiver, and #526 in the recruiting class in 2021, according to the 247 Composite. Here's what I said about Anthony during his recruitment, before I gave him a TTB Rating of 67 (LINK):
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.
I did bump him up to a 73 after his senior film.
Anthony played in all fourteen games in 2022, but he made just 7 catches for 80 yards and 1 touchdown. That was a significant drop-off from his freshman year, when he made 12 catches for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 6-catch, 155-yard, 2-touchdown effort against Michigan State in 2021. That one game appeared to be a breakout, but the 2021 season was played without leading receiver Ronnie Bell, so other players had to step up. With the return of Bell - and every other significant receiving target - in 2022, Anthony was pushed down a rung in the pecking order.
Here's a look at the potential depth chart for 2023, assuming Bell and Cornelius Johnson are both going to move on to the NFL:
WR1: Darrius Clemons (So.), Cristian Dixon (RS So.), Karmello English (Fr.)
WR2: Roman Wilson (Sr.), Amorion Walker (So.), Fredrick Moore (Fr.)
WR3: A.J. Henning (Sr.), Tyler Morris (So.), Eamonn Dennis (RS Jr.), Semaj Morgan (Fr.)
I had projected Anthony as a starter in 2023 with Bell and Johnson gone, so this depth chart pushes unproven receivers like Clemons and Henning into starters' roles. I would not be surprised to see Michigan scope out the transfer portal for a receiver to help out with depth.
Anthony is the third player from the 2021 class to enter the transfer portal, joining defensive lineman George Rooks III (Boston College) and tight end Louis Hansen (UConn).
That MSU game, specifically that first half, was a special performance. Right there with Cornelius Johnson's first half against OSU.
ReplyDeleteI am really still kind of shocked that this is all we'll get from Anthony. To me, it looked like he had the hands and jump ball skills that we haven't seen here since Gallon and Hemingway days. 2022 was a huge disappoint for what turned out to be unwarranted expectations. Sounds like route running and blocking might have been issues but those are coachable skills.
Bummer but I wish him the best....As long as he doesn't transfer to Iowa, OSU, or MSU.
He really just didn't play well in 2022. Expectations were a little outsized based on that MSU game, but otherwise, he never really did anything. I do think he would have started in 2023, as I mentioned, but I didn't really see any progress this season.
DeleteAgree 100%. Very disappointed, but expectations were outsized based on one half.
DeleteAll these years and I still find the WR1, WR2, WR3 framework to be completely baffling. Why are freshman who saw substantial downs in 2022 like Walker and Morris listed at WR2 and WR 3 while Dixon is a WR 1? And why is the top returning WR (Wilson) listed at WR2 while a freshman is WR1?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, FWIW (not much admittedly) I'd rank it this way in terms of receiving yardage.
Starters
1. Wilson
2. Clemons
3. Henning
Backups
Walker
Morris
English
Bench
Morgan
Moore
Dennis
Dixon
I don't see the portal being a big source for WR because good luck beating out the guys who have been in the system longer. There's a lot of young talent in the (current) freshman class that will be sophomores and a couple seniors in Wilson/Henning.
SMH. I labeled the receivers WR1, WR2, and WR3, and you complained about it for like the 10th time.
DeleteThen in the same comment, you said "Here's my guess"...and labeled them 1, 2, and 3.
So I apologize for putting "WR" in front of my numbers. That seems to be a trigger for you.
Addressing your more general point, though, I would just say there's no possible way to put on paper the exact depth chart with guys coming on the field, going off the field, moving around, getting tired, lining up in certain packages, etc. So it is what it is. It's really not a difficult thing to interpret.
The numbers I used are a ranked order of the 3 starters by yardage - like I said. "I'd rank it this way in terms of receiving yardage." They aren't positions.
DeleteWhat do yours mean? Didn't realize it was 10 times I've asked. Sorry - Maybe this one explanation is the charm.... Nope. Still not it.
It really IS a difficult thing to interpret. You don't seem to have an answer. You list them like they are positions but then throw up your hands and say it's impossible. Is a backup WR1 ahead of a backup WR2? Is Dixon ahead of Walker? Does WR1,2,3 relate to X, Y, Z?
I assume since you are making up a different format there is some rationale. I guess this does explain it to some degree.
"there's no possible way to put on paper"
Well, Jim Harbaugh said it and others wrote it down:
https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/lists/jim-harbaugh-reveals-entire-michigan-football-2022-depth-chart/
"Yeah, the top five is Roman, Cornelius Johnson, Ronnie Bell. No receiver ‘one’ — they’re all ones, along with Andrel Anthony and A.J. Henning. Those five will be strong in a rotation as starters."
WR Depth Chart
Starters
Wilson
Johnson
Bell
"Starters"
Anthony
Henning
Backups
OLeary
Dixon
3 freshman
The 5 starters got almost all the receptions with the 3 top guys getting the far bigger share. The backups (Leary, Dixon, and the 3 freshman) got a total of 6 catches. No other WRs caught a pass.
Pretty straightforward.
One position: WR
Clear top 3.
Two top "starters" behind them.
O'Leary, Dixon, and 3 freshman.
It's very possible because it happened.
Well, harbs listed the five, and then vomited every other name after ... even through out a Cooper Cupp comparison for a guy who saw one ball ...
DeleteYeah JH's definition of "starter" is italicized for a reason but semantics aside the order was generally spot on besides the freshman surpassing a walk-on. (Standard coach tactic to downplay freshman and talk-up vets/walk-ons.)
DeleteI actually think Harbaugh's framing is pretty good though. Only some positions (QB, OL, ILB) have a true starter who plays most every down. Most are rotations and then the guy "starting" a game might be a 6th OL, or 3rd TE, or 2nd RB, or 4th WR depending on the formation being out there and play-call. So Harbaugh's framing is probably more accurate than an 11-man/first-team structure.
Thunder is absolutely right that depth charts are complicated and not easy to put down into a table neatly for every position, but the answer isn't to make it MORE complicated with a goofy WR1, WR2, WR3 structure. Of course, he can do that if he wants but it's pointless to get mad when someone says "I don't get it. What does it mean? Why do you have CB/CB but WR1/WR2/WR3?"
The bottomline is that there IS a fairly clear hierarchy in the WR room, we knew it from the start of the season, it wasn't remotely a surprise and the framing here does not reflect it at all. Questions are legit.
DeleteThunder answered my question though - he doesn't care to be right here. It's just a random division of WRs into groupings for no reason. The numbers don't mean anything.
That's his right, I'm just surprised he posts these regularly without an easy simplification that would correct the indifference / confusion.
Weirdly splitting the position groups into 3 end up showing weird outcomes like when Christian Dixon is the top backup at the top WR spot or when Jalen Perry is a starter at CB (CB2?) over Green even though Green had 12 career starts and Perry had hardly played.
https://touch-the-banner.com/way-too-early-2022-depth-chart-january-2022/
There are lots of easy fixes but one is to just treat WRs and CBs the same way that TE is treated. Instead we get three different systems (TEs grouped, CBs listed as CB/CB, and WRs in numbered order.)
Maybe cancel your subscription?
DeleteI've been on hold with customer service for hours.
DeleteI listed Henning #3 above but that's mostly a seniority thing. I don't think that's how it's going to work out. Clemons and Wilson seem like high talent options but I think McCarthy is going to want a go-to target with good hands and instincts to improvise.
DeleteBest guess is that's Morris but I haven't seen enough to really know. It could be a freshman too. Have seen enough from Henning to think he's not that kind of receiver and is more likely to be 4th or 5th than 2nd or 3rd on the receiving yardage list. Unless the Michigan offense starts using more screens, it's hard to see Henning really replacing Bell or any of the other departing WR.
There are guys on the depth chart that I don't expect to be here next year, either. I mean, there's no way to project an accurate depth chart. There are too many moving pieces. Nobody was projecting LaDarius Henderson and Ernest Hausmann onto the depth chart a month ago, either.
DeleteThere's no accurate way to predict game scores or what recruits will do either. Predictions are dumb but can be fun. Sometimes they can be right - Harbaugh's mostly was. (He benefited from insider knowledge though.)
DeleteSure he played ahead of Clemons & the other FR, but even when the OCs tried to get him the ball, Anthony never made a play. Hopefully he shows out at SCar or Pitt, but I don't expect it
ReplyDeleteBest of luck
I saw a stat somewhere that Anthony only caught approximately 25% of balls thrown in his direction. Some of that was on the QB, because I remember a couple inaccurate balls thrown in his direction, but 25% is not a good number.
DeleteIt's a horrible number. Anthony was not good this year. Johnson coming back - presumably Anthony knew about that before we did - was a nail in the coffin for him with Clemons/Walker/Morris rising up.
DeleteNot feeling too good about next year.
DeleteThe bright spot I have is if Davis Warren plays. McCarthy is careless.
Not as careless as Cade though. Both have 7 career INTs but Cade in fewer attempts (381 vs 423).
DeleteNot a big fan of coach Bell. I watch other team and WRs all have hands. Michigan WRs arent as good as them .Wish Jim McElwain was here. Nico had zero drops the year he was here
ReplyDeleteI think with a relatively new college coach coming from the high school ranks, you're looking more for recruiting from Bellamy than prowess coaching the position. Ideally, you get both, but that's not always the case. I do think McElwain did a good job when he was at Michigan, but ultimately, he's been a solid head coach and coordinator. There's a reason he's had those jobs: he's a good coach. You don't always get head FBS coach material as position coaches.
DeleteDo you think this could be an "addition by subtraction" thing? Route running, blocking etc. should be considered and I don't have any metrics to critique those qualities, but from a speed standpoint, Thunder's starting 3 WRs look awfully fast compared to last year's group.
ReplyDeleteNo, not really. I think Anthony could have been a decent WR. When he gets more reps and the expectations are raised a little bit, he might have responded. I don't think the team is better without him. But I don't really think they'll be worse, either. Especially if Cornelius Johnson comes back in 2023.
DeleteIt's all about Blake Corum. If he doesn't come back they are in trouble. Donovan Edwards is no where near ready to be an every down back. And JJ McCarthy is not ready to carry a team. They will probably go 8-4 without Corum, unless they get a RB in the portal.
DeleteWow. Didn't we just beat ohio without Corum?
DeleteYou liked what you saw against TCU?
DeleteYes - The offense scored 45 points against TCU. Should have been even more if a few dumb mistakes are avoided.
DeleteOffense was great against OSU and Purdue as well.
Does not seem like the sky is going to fall without Corum at all.
It didn't when Haskins left either. Or Higdon or Evans Or Charbonnet. Or...well, any RB come to think of it.
Edwards is a better running back than he was in 2021, and he also adds value in the receiving game. Michigan will have to make adjustments in their run game to accommodate Edwards and whoever else will be running the ball in 2023, but I have confidence that the coaching staff will make it work. They made it work for Higdon, Evans, etc.
DeleteI agree they will adapt calls to some degree but I also think Edwards will be asked to do different things - just like Corum was. I see it as a meet-in-the-middle type of thing. Playcalls won't be exactly like Haskins playcalls but they'll be more alike than different, just as was the case when Corum stepped in.
DeleteThe offense isn't going to look much different but it will be tweaked like always to fit the specific strengths of personnel.
Edwards is not an every down back. JJ Can't carry a team .
DeleteWe may not find out, but that's a good thing. Increase his TOUCHES, and Edwards is a Heisman candidate. Who cares how he gets it, just let him do his thing
DeleteHe wasn't happy when Gattis left. And he wasn't happy when Cade McNamara transferred. I understand with McNamara. I see he has an offer from Miami. Hope he wises up and doesn't go there.
ReplyDeleteND, Miami, MSU all offering Andrel. Seems like folks think there's upside left. I would not be surprised to see it despite the poor 2022.
ReplyDeleteI think there's upside left with Anthony. If I had my druthers, he wouldn't be transferring. I think he could be a solid player in the next two years.
Delete