Two things are certain about Danny Anthrop as a football player: he’s extremely fast and he’s extremely productive.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Lafayette, Ind., has helped his Central Catholic High School squad to the longest current winning streak in the state with 33 straight victories.
As a junior, Anthrop caught 60 passes for 994 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing 67 times for 787 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 30 yards on 20 punt returns with four more scores and averaged 55 yards and scored three times on five kickoff returns. He also picked off three passes and returned one for a score. His 34 touchdowns led the state of Indiana and he finished with 2,802 all-purpose yards.
He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down as a senior. In two victories, Anthrop has accounted for about 500 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns, including five last week (2 rushing, 2 interception returns and 1 receiving).Anthrop got a chance to display his speed this summer when he attended Notre Dame’s one-day camp.
“I did very well in the one-on-ones,” he said of his performance in South Bend. “I don’t think anybody shut me down one time. I ran a 4.4-forty. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get anything faster than that because I had a lot of great times this summer.
“I ran 4.2-flat at Bowling Green, but my usual is like a 4.33.”
Irish assistant Mike Elston, who handles in-state recruiting for the Irish, talked with Anthrop afterward.
“He said that Coach (Brian) Kelly really liked me and what he actually said was that Coach Kelly left an offer up to the offensive coaches,” Anthrop said. “They decided to wait because at that point in the summer, I hadn’t gotten an offer from a college yet.”
Since then, Anthrop has picked offers from Akron and Buffalo. He’s receiving interest from most MAC schools as well as Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern. He’s also stayed in touch with Elston.
“They want me to get up to some games and just go from there,” said Anthrop, who will make his first unofficial visit to Notre Dame on Saturday, when the Irish open up the season against South Florida. “I’m really looking forward to the game.”
Anthrop isn’t exactly sure where he stands on the Irish recruiting board at the moment, but understands there is a process.
“When I talked to (Elston) back in June, he said if he had to guess, it’d be September, but I’m not real sure if that’s official or anything,” he said of a potential offer.
Anthrop said an offer from Notre Dame would mean a lot.
“And it wouldn’t be too hard of a choice,” he said. “It’s real close. Obviously, it’s not as close as a school like Purdue or anything, but it’s a great school with really good academics and prestige. Coach Kelly is a great coach, he’s got a great reputation and he did a lot of great things at Cincinnati. I think he’s really going to build a successful program at Notre Dame.
“They wouldn’t regret it. I have a great work ethic and I know my role on a team and I do what I need to do to make my team successful.”
