Crystal balls trending for A.J. Henning
247's Allen Trieu put in a crystal ball pick for Michigan to land Frankfort (IL) Lincoln-Way East wide receiver A.J. Henning. This is the second pick for Henning to Michigan, following Steve Wiltfong's earlier in May. This is a big deal, since Henning is a 4-star, the #15 wide receiver, and #78 overall. He's also pretty tight with J.J. McCarthy. Henning, to me, could be the next Jeremy Gallon.
Henning was (and still is, I guess) considered to be a Notre Dame lean, with 57% of the picks for Notre Dame and only 29% for Michigan. But the last pick to ND was in November of 2018.
Definitely a want, though that video was typical for a high school wideout I feel. Clearly more athletic than most of the kids he’s playing against, no special route running, mostly just burning guys deep or winding up in open space because the defense isn’t paying attention. High points the ball well tho and once he gets the ball in his hands he’s a true playmaker.
Curious, is he likely to stick at wideout or might we see him in the backfield? Thoughts?
No, I don't think we'll see him in the backfield, except potentially in a gadget play situation.
Sounds right. He's got great hands. But not the running abilities of a RB. I like his hand A LOT though!
Thanks, Magnus. I like the Jeremy Gallon comparison but does he have JG's O or B button spin move?
That's poor tackling. The best part of that play was Chesson taking out all three of those guys with one block.
Jehu Chesson - Big Ten Bowler of the Century
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Looks like Chesson is still in the NFL playing for the Redskins bouncing between the practice squad and active roster. Hope he sticks for awhile.
Im still waiting for Junior Year Chesson to make a return.
But what are his Twitter likes telling us?
I live less than a mile from Lincoln-Way East and have seen this kid play several times. I know this will sound crazy, but if one were to combine JG and Denard, this kid would be the result...outstanding ball skills, body control, burst, top-end speed, and balance. AJ is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands, and he has done it against pretty good competition (LWE won the 2017 8A state title and lost in the state semis in 2018). He ran a 10.73 100m at the state track meet yesterday, which was good for 4th place (I think Denard was @ 10.65 his senior year, IIRC).
Allen Trieu hit the nail on the head with his eval...if AJ stays healthy in 2019, he could very well wind up a 5*. His injuries haven't been of the season ending variety, but mostly nagging lower body issues that have impacted his speed and burst.
10:73 100m, do want.
I think he’s a bit underrated too since he’s coming off an injury. He reminds of Jaylen Waddle - guessing that’s who Gattis is selling him on.
Huge pickup when we land him.
Agree with the Waddle comparison and a good fit for the slot in Gattis’ offense.
I am not overly familiar with UM’s WR prospects but no one comes to mind in the 2020 class as a key target for WR and especially slot. Maybe Cam Martinez. Who else could fit the slot for 2020?
We used to have this one guy named Kalil Branham. He was and still is good.
loved his attitude but doesn't seem like the kind of WR gattis wants / needs as much in his offense. branham is a middle sized receiver (6-1 / 205), and a 3-star. seems like we might be in the market for other types of players. i bet he'll be a good college wideout but maybe not a fit for speed in space.
Not a fit for speed in space, eh? Pretty sure he's a track star of sorts in Ohio. He's the definition of #speedinspace.
Maybe he doesn't have the fluidity or the route running just yet but the kid loved UM and you can't teach fast. Of all the players we could've taken a flyer on, he's one I would've given a shot to.
he's the one who de-committed, i would've liked to keep him too. just postulating the possible reasoning why they aren't after him so hard anymore. here is an article that explains it better maybe: gattis' history suggests either really tall or *really* fast. KB appears to simply be in a different mold, is all.
Gattis definitely has a type here, and for Michigan, he’s looking to fill it with 5-foot-9.5 AJ Henning, who has been the most touted prospect to respond positively to Gattis’ hire. He recently ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at the Opening Regionals, which makes him perfect for the slot.
He was the one who decommitted, but if you look at his crystal balls, I would assume Michigan didn't fight too hard to keep him.
pretty much what i said, i was just giving a reason 'why' they weren't pushing too hard to keep him based on what i've read. to be clear for the third time: i liked KB and would take him, but based on that article i posted it seems like they are going a different direction. i don't know why people are arguing with me when the good doctor toboggan said essentially the exact same thing.
His track speed isn't really elite. At least his times last year, haven't seen this year. Not saying he is slow, but not in the same ballpark as Henning if he is running a 10.73.
He’s a mid tier power 5 guy. Athleticism isn’t elite. Great attitude so he will probably be successful, but he’s not what Gattis wants.
Yeah, Martinez, I think Xavier Watts has inside outside flexibility but would probably start outside, then I think there are a couple newer offers down south that are crazy fast slot types in Nate McCollum and Jalin Hyatt.
Thanks. Those names have been mentioned but not a lot of chatter about their likelihood of picking UM. Still early in Gattis’ recruiting process.
Cam strikes me as another Jalin Marshall - so a double win if he picks UM over OSU. Cam and AJ would be a nice class.
Yeah I really hope we can land him. Seems somewhat up in the air right now.
FWIW, Watts has an official visit scheduled.
+1 for "when"
"when"
I like your word choice
*edit* Seems I'm not alone
Yeah, I know it's Hennig and not Henning.
First thing I thought of when I saw this post!
League Life
A. J. H. JH. Yep, he is coming to Michigan. All the JHs are ours
Maybe he did.
You might be on to something there, BlueMetal - his posts have really been trending M ever since the McCarthy commit. Both in tone & what he replies to.
Fingers crossed ?????
Spurning ND for Michigan is all the rage these days. Someone should remind him.
Similar to Jeremy Gallon? Midget RichRod receiver. (*All* RichRod's recruits were 5'8". ALL of them.)
Kidding ... I'd like to see more fast 'n quick little guys.
If Black, or DPJ were matching Gallon's numbers now, we'd be calling for a Heisman.
I'd say a "big deal" is when you score the top overall WR... for we always get wrs of this caliber at this stage...so I would not say its a big deal... no offense.
Getting a top 100 player that may be underrated (I.e. a potentially top 50 player) is always a big deal. Hate to burst your bubble but we don’t exactly recruit to the level of Clemson or Bama (or even OSU) for top level talent.
Name some.
I can only think of three top 100 WRs in the past ten classes; DPJ, Cole and Harris. Only one we got to see contribute. Outside of the 2017 class, few were even close.
Cole was playing safety, iirc.
He came in as a WR and played a bit there. He moved to safety for bowl practices. Didn't play there as he was redshirting. And on his way off the team, as it turned out.
Based on his film, I tend to agree with this take. Not saying I don't want him, but his film doesnt look like a top 100 guy to me. I thought both Sarinstil and Jackson were better prospects than Henning. He does have great ball skills, but not as electric in space.
I’ve been waiting on this update because he was foggy on him up until a couple of days ago and I believe he’ll be a very affective receiver in our new offense! GO BLUE! We are almost there.
I think we will like him back.
Trieu's non-paywalled scouting report:
Compact build. Not a kid who stands out on the hoof, but has a well-developed upper and lower body. Has elite speed. Great burst and acceleration and can score from anywhere on the field. Very good hands. Catches the ball well away from his body and shows the ability to go up and catch passes that are above his head. Good lower body strength and will break tackles. More of a kid that will run past defenders than a make-you-miss in a phone booth guy. Shows some elusiveness after the catch. Versatile and can play in the backfield, slot or as an outside receiver. Needs to still continue to work on route-running and wide receiver technique if that is what he will do more of in college. Has dealt with some injuries, so staying healthy will be key for him in college. A true home-run threat and one of the more electric players in his class.
Sounds like he could have a role similar to the one we wanted Evans to have this year.
Some of his attributes sound like Hemingway, but they compare home more to Jeremy Gallon. Either way I can’t wait to see him succeed in the manner in which both of those two did for our program.
Thanks a lot Mags!
Comes from a good competitive school in Illinois. Won state title in 2017, semi-finalist in 2018 in the highest division.