Sure hands invite the comparison, and, apparently, so does a gyroscope in the head.
Between 2019-2023 All-America Hayden Hatten caught 243 passes for Idaho for 3,444 yards and an all-time Vandals' career record 33 touchdowns.
He hung onto passes like Velcro grabs fuzz, and he didn't need to be standing on two feet to do it. Hatten was comfortable catching balls on any plane from upright to upside down, it seemed.
Now comes Tony Harste. The Vandals' sophomore from Puyallup's Emerald Ridge High School has remarkably similar statistics to Hatten following their respective freshman seasons. Hatten caught 10 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Harste caught 10 passes for 203 yards.
Through three games this year, Harste has nine catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, a sliding catch in the end zone against St. Thomas.
They are not totally the same receiver. Hatten, 6-2, 210, could wall off cornerbacks and safeties like a power forward boxing out in basketball, and he caught the eyes of NFL scouts with a 39-inch vertical jump in a 2024 pro day.
Harste, 5-11, 175, is not as physically imposing, and if he can't leap like Hatten, he has the same ability to make quarterbacks look good by hauling in everything he can reach and by laying out to snag low or wide throws.
"He is smaller," than Hatten but "quicker," says Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. "He is a steady Eddie, and he is an intelligent player. He wants to be a coach. He can play all three (wide receiver) positions. He understands the concepts."
Ford says he has been aware of Harste since Harste was a high school sophomore and trained at Ford's brother Tracy's Ford Sports Performance in Bellevue.
"I thought right away 'that kid is going to be a good Big Sky player,' " says Idaho's coach. "He is a hard cover. He might not run a 4.4, but his quickness is elite."
Harste sees himself as the product of Idaho receivers who followed Hatten: Jordan Dwyer, now at TCU, and Mark Hamper, now at California.
"I got to learn from great receivers before me, J.D. and Mark Hamper," Harste says. "They were both great route runners, and from Hamper I learned about blocking. That is something I still need to improve on."
Ford says Harste began to consolidate his talent last spring and has only improved this fall.
Harste has also developed a great comfort level with Matt Linehan, who was Idaho's receivers coach when Harste was a freshman and who is now the Vandals' offensive coordinator.
"I love Linny. He definitely schemes up his guys. He plays to our strengths," Harste says.
A sports management major, Harste confirms Ford's claim that Harste wants to be a coach.
"I love football, the X's and O's, the scheming."
Harste says he was taught well in high school and came to Idaho with a good foundation in football concepts. He could view game film even in high school and knew what to watch for, and that that has only gotten more detailed with Linehan - good training for a future coach.
"Film is a different animal now," he says. "Linny does a great job of showing you what to look for."
The Vandals (2-1) wrap up their nonconference schedule Saturday at San Jose State. The Spartans (0-2) lost a close game to Central Michigan to open the season, 16-14, and were beaten by Texas a week ago, 38-7.
Ford says SJSU is better than its record, but that Idaho, from the Football Championship Subdivision, relishes the challenge of playing against a Football Bowl Subdivision team.
"When our kids get a chance to play FBS it's an opportunity for them to show they can play" at that level. "Our guys who have played at FBS want to go win."
While Idaho's offensive line against the Spartan's defensive line could be the game's key matchup, according to Ford, the Vandals bring to the game a talented corps of young wide receivers, Ryan Jezioro, Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar and Harste, who is on an early track to draw comparisons to Idaho's all-time great, Hatten.
"They are growing up even faster than I thought they would," he says.