Jackson Anthrop continues to defy odds and expectations

In a underlying way, JaMarcus Shephard and Jackson Anthrop are at odds.

Shephard, Purdue's wide receivers coach, sees his objective being to recruit talent enough to push Anthrop, a sophomore who led the Boilermakers in receptions last season, into the background.

And every year it'll be Anthrop's job to essentially show the world with his play that Shephard's not going to succeed any time soon.

"I've been telling him for a year, 'I got somebody coming in to take your spot,'" Shephard said. "He just consistently comes out here and battles."

Just one year ago, Shephard believed he could easily pinpoint the one player in his position room who maybe didn't look like a Big Ten football player. Had he been asked in the summer of 2017, Shepard would've immediately pointed to Anthrop, then freshman, and doubted his ability to thrive on this roster, let alone be a trusted target.

"I was very concerned initially early on whether or not Jackson would be able to contribute to our football team," Shephard said.

So, Shephard did the one thing any receivers coach with the strong recruiting reputation the 35-year-old assistant already had earned in college coaching circles would do. He tried to recruit over the players he inherited, Anthrop very much included.

Enter junior college transfers Terry Wright and Isaac Zico, and freshman KeyRon Catlett, along with Tyler Hamilton, a commitment inherited from the prior staff. (And don't forget Notre Dame graduate transfer Corey Holmes, who was brought in, too.)

In his mind, Shephard had solved the problem of having to play a perceived small, slow and untested freshman receiver like Anthrop.

"If all of those four got on a line right now and raced, there's no question Jackson would be last," Shephard said. "If we got in the weight room and lifted, (Anthrop) would be the weakest one of the group. If we got into a drill where we had to show change of direction, (Anthrop) would be the slowest one. Nah, not always but initially that was my thought on Jackson."

The five new wide receivers Purdue brought in for Year 1 under Jeff Brohm and his staff combined to catch 36 passes last season, 29 of them by Wright, all while Anthrop totaled a team-high 47 receptions for 423 yards and five touchdowns as a redshirt freshman.

"After you put in the time and the work, it's the best thing in the world to be rewarded with a spot," Anthrop said. "I also think one of the hardest things to do is to keep that spot. When something is given to you, you fight like hell to never let it go."

Shephard is almost trying to prove correct his initial knee-jerk reaction toward the 5-foot-11, 185-pound prospect whose scholarship offer from Purdue, just a 10-minute drive from his alma mater of Lafayette Central Catholic, stood alone among FBS options. Shephard still sees his objective every year as being to bring players in to unseat a player who's not going to go quietly.

Enter Rondale Moore. A highly-touted 5-foot-9 and 175-pound receiver, who Shephard thought would win Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky following his senior year at Trinity High School in Jeff Brohm's hometown of Louisville. He's expected to play a prominent role for Purdue's offense as a freshman.

"Rondale is slowly learning and always asking questions and that's great because we're going to need everybody this year," Anthrop said early in training camp. "Part of my job is making sure he's got the confidence to go along with his natural gifts to make plays."

So far, the result are the same - Anthrop seems to hold his place with the first-team offense as a slot receiver now that the Boilermakers have progressed out of preseason camp and into their fall practice routine. Anthrop is the first player to take a rep in the punt return line with Moore standing right behind him in each position.

"As much as I love each and every one of these guys, if there was a war going on the field right now, Jackson and I would be back-to-back and I'd go to war with that guy in a foxhole," Shephard said. "Now, he's so short, I might get shot in the back of my head if we were back-to-back but I would get in that foxhole with him and take those chances because he's that kind of guy. He's a battler."

Perhaps the best compliment you can give Anthrop is that of reliability for the two quarterbacks who've battled this month for the starting job. It's safe to say both Elijah Sindelar and David Blough know very well what to expect from Anthrop.

"He's always where he's supposed to be and always runs his route the way he's supposed to and he's durable so you can throw it over the middle with him," SIndelar said. "Now, you don't try to get him killed but if he does take a shot, he always bounces up, which is good."

After having coached Anthrop for an entire season, and as he puts it "(he) proved to me he can play in the Big Ten," Shephard is quick to remind anyone who will listen that Anthrop doesn't get this playing time because of any special treatment at Purdue.

"Just because right now I've been saying good things about this kid, don't think that I'm just all in love with Jackson, OK?," Shephard joked. "I rip his butt every day. The slot guys, if they do it wrong, it's Jackson's fault. If the outside guys don't line up right, it's Jackson's fault. If the running back misreads the block and cuts inside and still doesn't choke the guy to get the block, it's Jackson's fault. Everything that we do is Jackson's fault. And he's OK with that."

So when August rolls around in 2019 and 2020, expect the talk around Purdue to once again surround players Shephard recruited to take Anthrop's job. Neither coach nor player would have it any other way.

"He's not afraid of the competition," Shephard said. "He just consistently battles every single day. It doesn't matter. We could bring whoever you want to in here, Jackson is going to find his way to get his butt on the field."

And don't expect the needling from Shephard to Anthrop to stop in the near future either.

"I saw him execute a spin move (earlier in camp) and not only did he do it, it was fast for the first time ever," Shephard said. "I had to take a step back and wonder, 'Did he really just do that?' because I wasn't sure he'd ever do that."

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.