East Lansing took down River Rouge last night, 21-6, in a game the Trojans controlled throughout. East Lansing is the home of three-star wide receiver and Michigan commit Andrel Anthony, and though he only hauled in three receptions, big plays were the name of the game for the 6-2, 175-pounder.
Anthony hauled in a reception on East Lansing’s first drive of the game to help his Trojans grab a quick 7-0 lead, but didn’t reel in another catch until the first play of the second quarter. His second quarter grab was arguably the play of the night, occurring on a gorgeous 25-yard fingertip grab along the sideline in which he had to dive and stretch completely out to get it.
The play was reminiscent of Desmond Howard’s iconic fourth down grab against Notre Dame in the end zone in 1991. East Lansing took a 21-0 lead into the half, but the aforementioned catches were Anthony’s only receptions of the first half.
In fact, he didn’t even have any other passes thrown his way — and that was the theme of the night in a lot of ways. He wasn’t featured the way you’d expect an FBS prospect to be featured, with East Lansing seemingly seldom looking his way.
Part of this was due to the fact he had trouble gaining separation off the line of scrimmage throughout the night, which was surprising. River Rouge was zeroing in on him, however, and consistently had a safety near him.
Anthony revealed after the game River Rouge ran a bit of a unique coverage in regards to how they defended him, which was part of the reason he had trouble getting open. The U-M commit’s only other reception of the night occurred in the third quarter, on what was his second of two highlight reel grabs.
With East Lansing backed up on their own 10-yard line, the Trojans attempted a deep pass to Anthony along the sideline, in which he went up over his defender and reeled in a 40-yard reception to get his club to midfield.
The catch showed off his 6-2 leaping abilities perfectly, with Anthony revealing afterward his quarterback told him he was about to get hit and just simply threw the ball up to him. It was surprising East Lansing didn’t do this more often.
River Rouge finally got on the board with four seconds remaining in the third quarter and trailing 21-0, but botched the extra point (that summed up their night in a lot of ways). Anthony had two passes thrown his way in the fourth quarter, but both were incomplete.
He got both hands on one ball along the sideline, but had a defensive back all over him who made a nice play to break it up just as it hit the wideout’s hands. The other incompletion came on a play in which they threw a short fade to him in the corner of the end zone, a play one would think would have been more prevalent.
Again, though, River Rouge’s defensive back was all over him and broke up the pass. Anthony finished the night with three receptions for 80 yards (or so), with just five passes thrown his way all game. He consistently lined up on the outside in East Lansing’s formations, frequently on the left side.
He didn’t block much as a receiver, but never really had the chance to; most of East Lansing’s runs went to the opposite side of the field he was on.
Another prospect in the game on Michigan’s radar was class of 2022 River Rouge three-star defensive end Davonte Miles, who confirmed after the game he has a U-M offer. There isn’t much to say about Miles, who made a minimal impact defensively.
He stands 6-4, 275, but didn’t necessarily stand out physically from a fan’s perspective, simply because River Rouge had a few other members of their defensive line who were nearly as big. Miles will have to make significant progress if he hopes to be a realistic candidate to wind up at Michigan in the class of 2022.
Anthony, on the flip side, is a very intriguing prospect because of his size. He showed off both impressive hands and leaping abilities on the aforementioned catches, though he never got a chance to display his speed due to the fact he didn't have any yards after the catch.
Anthony hauled in a reception on East Lansing’s first drive of the game to help his Trojans grab a quick 7-0 lead, but didn’t reel in another catch until the first play of the second quarter. His second quarter grab was arguably the play of the night, occurring on a gorgeous 25-yard fingertip grab along the sideline in which he had to dive and stretch completely out to get it.
The play was reminiscent of Desmond Howard’s iconic fourth down grab against Notre Dame in the end zone in 1991. East Lansing took a 21-0 lead into the half, but the aforementioned catches were Anthony’s only receptions of the first half.
In fact, he didn’t even have any other passes thrown his way — and that was the theme of the night in a lot of ways. He wasn’t featured the way you’d expect an FBS prospect to be featured, with East Lansing seemingly seldom looking his way.
Part of this was due to the fact he had trouble gaining separation off the line of scrimmage throughout the night, which was surprising. River Rouge was zeroing in on him, however, and consistently had a safety near him.
Anthony revealed after the game River Rouge ran a bit of a unique coverage in regards to how they defended him, which was part of the reason he had trouble getting open. The U-M commit’s only other reception of the night occurred in the third quarter, on what was his second of two highlight reel grabs.
With East Lansing backed up on their own 10-yard line, the Trojans attempted a deep pass to Anthony along the sideline, in which he went up over his defender and reeled in a 40-yard reception to get his club to midfield.
The catch showed off his 6-2 leaping abilities perfectly, with Anthony revealing afterward his quarterback told him he was about to get hit and just simply threw the ball up to him. It was surprising East Lansing didn’t do this more often.
River Rouge finally got on the board with four seconds remaining in the third quarter and trailing 21-0, but botched the extra point (that summed up their night in a lot of ways). Anthony had two passes thrown his way in the fourth quarter, but both were incomplete.
He got both hands on one ball along the sideline, but had a defensive back all over him who made a nice play to break it up just as it hit the wideout’s hands. The other incompletion came on a play in which they threw a short fade to him in the corner of the end zone, a play one would think would have been more prevalent.
Again, though, River Rouge’s defensive back was all over him and broke up the pass. Anthony finished the night with three receptions for 80 yards (or so), with just five passes thrown his way all game. He consistently lined up on the outside in East Lansing’s formations, frequently on the left side.
He didn’t block much as a receiver, but never really had the chance to; most of East Lansing’s runs went to the opposite side of the field he was on.
Another prospect in the game on Michigan’s radar was class of 2022 River Rouge three-star defensive end Davonte Miles, who confirmed after the game he has a U-M offer. There isn’t much to say about Miles, who made a minimal impact defensively.
He stands 6-4, 275, but didn’t necessarily stand out physically from a fan’s perspective, simply because River Rouge had a few other members of their defensive line who were nearly as big. Miles will have to make significant progress if he hopes to be a realistic candidate to wind up at Michigan in the class of 2022.
Anthony, on the flip side, is a very intriguing prospect because of his size. He showed off both impressive hands and leaping abilities on the aforementioned catches, though he never got a chance to display his speed due to the fact he didn't have any yards after the catch.
