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You know how parents often say they don’t have a favorite child, but much of the time, they really do? Well, when it comes to Jim Harbaugh’s 2021 recruiting class, he has a favorite, and he’s not shy about it.
While you might think it’s prized QB signee J.J. McCarthy, elite RB Donovan Edwards, or top 100 LB Junior Colson, it’s actually one of the wide receivers.
Well, then it would certainly be either of the California pledges — Cristian Dixon or Xavier Worthy? Nope. It’s in-state wideout Andrel Anthony, the longtime target who chose the Wolverines over rival Michigan State.
“Definitely one of my favorites – if not my very favorite,” Harbaugh told Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast. “The connection, the friendship. Tremendous, tremendous player.”
With that in mind, what does Harbaugh think of Anthony as a player? He might be the lowest-rated of the three, as a three-star according to all of the major recruiting services, but the Michigan football head coach sees a much more complete player than what recruiting analysts appear to.
“The big catch radius – he lights a room to me with his enthusiasm,” Harbaugh said, continuing to wax poetic about his favorite player. “The other people, you see the smile and the energy. But he can – whether it’s on the basketball court or on the football field, you can really see the energy, the enthusiasm and the athletic ability just pops. He was also somebody that we saw in camp multiple times. Known him for a very long time. He’s got a high school record – 1,971 receiving yards. He is as close to a finished receiver type person in high school that you can be. Tremendous football background as well, at East Lansing — one of my absolute favorite high school coaches there is in the country. Everything! I like everything in Andrel Anthony!”
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Of course, Harbaugh has more than just a few good things to say about the California duo.
Starting with Dixon, he notes that he’s shown tremendous ability and did so against the best defensive backs the nation has to offer.
“Like Andrel, these are all really finished – ah, you never really say finished product about a high school football player – but as close to that as you can be. I think they’re really gonna thrive here at Michigan,” Harbaugh said of the duo. “Cristian Dixon, another tall, rangy, big catch radius. 35 receptions, 611 yards, 6 touchdowns as a junior. He’s one of those ESPN top 150-type of players. Really good guy. And the level of competition he played in high school is arguably the best in the entire country. So, super excited about Cristian.”
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Worthy is precisely the type of player that Alabama tends to secure, but on Wednesday, the Crimson Tide’s overtures were rebuffed in favor of his original choice.
Harbaugh noted his superior athleticism as well as an incredible stat-line that Worthy had in his junior season.
“Xavier, he’s also – same type of player,” Harbaugh said. “He’s explosive. A lot of yards per catch. Nearly 1,000 yards as a junior. Also wasn’t able to play this fall out in California. But caught like 55 balls, 992 yards, top 100 player. Very, very dynamic football player.”
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While those are the marquee names that will be featured in the ‘speed-in-space’ offense, let’s not forget about ‘big speed-in-space.’
Harbaugh also discussed four-star tight end prospect Louis Hansen and what he brings to the table.
“He’ll be really good,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a big – probably around 6-5, 6-5.5. And about 200-high 30s, 240-pounds already. He’s not even shaving every day! He’s probably shaving once a week. He’s got some growing to do and some filling out to do. But he’s a top five-rated tight end in the country. Here’s another weird thing about him: he’s one of those four-year starters in high school. You don’t see that very often, where a youngster can start for four years in high school. His senior season was canceled.
“But Lou Hansen – he’s gonna fit quite nicely into the tight end room. He’s the type of tight end you can project to be an inline blocker, but also stretch the field. Big catch radius. Can go up and get a ball in traffic. All really good things. Tough kid and excited to have him. That’s a very important position on our offense.”
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