A. J. Henning
_2.jpg) Henning with Michigan in 2022 | |
| Northwestern Wildcats – No. 8 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Class | Graduate Student |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 9, 2001 Frankfort, Illinois, U.S.[1] |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Frankfort (IL) Lincoln-Way East |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Antiwan Henning Jr. (born September 9, 2001)[2] is an American football wide receiver currently playing for Northwestern University Football.
Early life
[edit]Henning attended Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Illinois. During the 2019 season, he tallied 835 receiving yards and 648 rushing yards, scored 29 touchdowns, and was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois.[3] 247Sports rated him as the No. 1 prospect in Illinois.[2]
College career
[edit]Michigan
[edit]Henning committed to Michigan and was the school's highest-ranked recruit in the 2020 class.[4] He debuted for Michigan during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, appearing in six games.[2]
As a sophomore in 2021, he appeared in all 14 games for Michigan, playing as a return specialist and wide receiver. Against Western Michigan on September 4, he scored his first collegiate touchdown, gaining 74 yards on a reverse.[5] Against Maryland on November 20, he took a lateral from Michael Barrett and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown.[6] Against Ohio State on November 27, he tallied 107 all-purpose yards and scored Michigan's first touchdown on a jet sweep.[2][7] For the season, he averaged 9.4 yards on 29 punt returns.[8] He was also named to the 2021 Academic All-Big Ten team.[2]
In the spring of 2022, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said they planned to use Henning in a Deebo Samuel-esque role. In July 2022, Pro Football Focus rated Henning as one of its 31 breakout candidates for 2022.[8]
On September 17, Henning returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown against UConn. It was Michigan's first punt return for touchdown since 2019. Having returned a kickoff for a touchdown in 2021, he became the fourth Michigan player (joining Steve Breaston, Desmond Howard, and Dave Raimey) to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown.[9] During the 2022 regular season, Henning returned 25 punts for 184 yards, an average of 7.36 yard per return. He also returned eight kickoffs for 163 yards, an average of 20.38 yards per return.[10]
Northwestern
[edit]On April 24, 2023 Henning announced that he entered the NCAA transfer portal, eventually transferring to Northwestern for his final two seasons.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "A.J. Henning". ESPN.
- ^ a b c d e "A.J. Henning". University of Michigan. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "A.J. Henning". Gatorade Player of the Year. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ Ryan Zuke (March 31, 2022). "A.J. Henning looks to emerge in crowded Michigan WR room". Mlive.com.
- ^ "Giddy, yup!". Detroit Free Press. September 5, 2021. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Michael Cohen (November 21, 2021). "Shell yeah!". Detroit Free Press. p. D5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A.J. Henning Finds The End Zone On AMAZING First Drive For Michigan". Detroit Sports Nation. November 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "2022 College Football: 31 breakout candidates to watch". Pro Football Focus. July 11, 2022.
- ^ Angelique S. Chengelis (September 17, 2022). "'Game-changers': Michigan's special teams show their value in nonconference finale". The Detroit News.
- ^ "2022 Michigan Football Statistics". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ "Michigan receiver, special teams star to enter transfer portal". MLIVE. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
External links
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