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Every year you know you’re gonna get a first-year player who comes in and shows out immediately.
For Michigan, in 2016, it was left guard Ben Bredeson and running back Chris Evans. In 2017, wideouts Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black looked solid, before the latter got hurt — and multiple were mainstays on special teams. In 2018, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, wide receiver Ronnie Bell and kicker Jake Moody all made big impacts. Last year, we saw the emergence of safety Daxton Hill, running back Zach Charbonnet, as well as wide receiver/kick returner Giles Jackson — as well as the promise of Mike Sainristil, Erick All, Cornelius Johnson and Christopher Hinton.
So, who will it be in 2020?
One pick that WolverinesWire has long had an eye out for coincides with what ESPN sees when it looks at the incoming players for the maize and blue. And naturally, it’s one of the Wolverines top recruits to put pen to paper in the last recruiting cycle.
There’s been a ton of excitement surrounding Frankfort (IL) Lincoln-Way East wide receiver A.J. Henning, a multi-faceted player who has the promise of being a game-breaker. And the worldwide leader sees it the same way, picking Michigan’s freshman impact player to be the star wideout from Illinois.
The Wolverines are trying to shift the offense toward the “speed in space” philosophy offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is putting in place. The staff is losing Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black but is also returning Nico Collins, Ronnie Bell, Mike Sainristil and Giles Jackson. Henning is a perfect fit for what Michigan wants to do on offense, though, and is an incredible playmaker. He’s a smaller receiver, at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, but he’s fast and is a big play waiting to happen.
Despite being somewhat smaller, Henning has the ability to play each and every receiver position on the field. He can split out wide, be in the slot, and with his speed, he could be utilized similarly to Giles Jackson, getting the ball on jet-sweeps or screens underneath.
With a new quarterback at the helm, the offense should have something of a new look, closer to what the aforementioned Gattis envisioned when he arrived last year. But whoever is under center will have a veritable weapon in Henning once he arrives and gets acclimated to the playbook and through the Bridge Program.