Ravens' Rookie Marc Anthony From A California Perspective

When the Baltimore Ravens announced their seventh round and final pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Marc Anthony from the University of California, the only Marc Anthony most Ravens fans had ever heard of was the lucky man who was married to singer Jennifer Lopez ("J.Lo").

In addition to what little fanfare his selection has caused and what little we might still know about him, we asked (and received) a variety of takes from those who followed his collegiate career, on what Ravens fans can expect out of him.

BlueandGold15: I always felt that Marc Anthony was underrated during
his years at Cal -- for a long time, I actually felt like he was the
better of our two corners (an unpopular opinion, I understand), and
certainly more talented at run forcing and tackling. If he wasn't
wrapping people up who ran at him, then he was funneling them back
over to someone who could. Man, Anthony was a great tackler out on the
edge -- so much so that it'll be noticeable with him gone. What he
lacked in speed, he did have in size and length, being bigger than
most corners.

Ohio Bear: I will remember Marc Anthony as a guy who improved greatly
over the course of his Cal career and was probably somewhat
underappreciated by many (if not most) Cal fans. Anthony had decent
cover skills as a corner, but I think his most important attribute was
his tackling ability. Anthony was a reliable open field tackler.
Between him and Steve Williams (drafted in 2013 by the Chargers) on
the other side, the Cal defense was blessed with two corners who could
make a tackle out in space.

LEastCoastBears: He also has been quite proficient in short coverage
and does rack up the tackles.

LeonPowe: Marc Anthony was a very steady corner who you could leave on
an island. I clearly remember multiple touchdown saving pass defenses
from him.

JahvidKnowsBest: Although Anthony gave up his fair share of
completions in his years as a starter for Cal, what I will remember
most about him is the occasional touchdown saving tackle that he would
come up with. It wasn't uncommon for running backs to get the edge on
us and break it for big gains over us this last year. Anthony however
had a propensity for making big, open field one-on-one tackles, that
definitely saved a few games from going the other way. Perhaps the
best example of this came against our home opener against Nevada. With
the offense sputtering, Anthony was able to come up with a big TFL
against a QB keeper/read option play. The Nevada QB had been burning
us all day with his legs and his arms, and this was one of the more
important plays of the game that actually allowed us to have a chance
to win it going into the end.

[Video including the Nevada play here:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/juRUxgLVWbQ?rel=0]

Vincent S: Anthony has been the very definition of solid,
unspectacular player. You don't really notice him on the field - but
for cornerbacks, that's a good thing. Upon further analysis, you
realize he always seems to be playing intelligently - if he's not
positioned well to make a tackle, he's influencing a runner's path
into another Cal defender. Syd'Quan Thompson set the standard for Cal
cornerbacks when I started school at Cal - while I'm not sure anyone
could make us forget him, Anthony exemplified many of the qualities of
a player who might.

[Career highlights: http://www.youtube.com/embed/fiEe6FSKF84?rel=0]