One of Michigan football’s top recruiting targets at wide receiver, A.J. Henning will visit this weekend and here’s why the Wolverines need to be impressive.

The system of new Michigan football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is built around players with speed and the ability to make things happen.

Those are the kinds of players Michigan football wants and at wide receiver, in the 2020 class at least, one player that fits the bill is four-star A.J. Henning, the top prospect out of the state of Illinois.

Henning, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound wideout has blazing speed, running the 40-yard dash is 4.46. He’s an electrifying talent and someone that Gattis has been focused on since he arrived in Ann Arbor a few months ago.

Henning did make an earlier visit to Michigan, but this weekend (according to 247 sports) will be his second trip and joining him on the visit will be highly-touted five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

There are rumors swirling that McCarthy could commit to Michigan football this weekend and if he did, it wouldn’t be a shock. All nine of his crystal ball projections are currently with Michigan and with Ohio State, another top pursuer, already getting its QB for 2021, it feels like a slam dunk.

According to Maize and Brew, getting McCarthy could help Michigan nab Henning too because the two players, both from Illinois are reported to be close. Henning is the top-ranked player in the state for 2020 and McCarthy is the top-ranked player in 2021.

The two players live about 45 minutes away from each other and if UM was able to get a commitment from McCarthy this weekend, it could help the Wolverines get some much-needed momentum with Henning, who has all six crystal-ball predictions sending him to Notre Dame.

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While Michigan appeared to be in a good spot with a number of wide receiver recruits, the Wolverines own board seems to have changed as Rashan Williams, who was once thought to be a sure thing, went to Indiana. Devell Washington also committed to West Virginia and Khalil Branham de-committed.

That leaves Michigan without a wide receiver commit, although they are working hard to bring in Maliq Carr, a 6-foot-6 pass catcher who is one of the best in-state options remaining.

However, it would be easier to feel good about things if Michigan was able to make some headway with Henning, who would be an ideal fit for Gattis with his ability to play all over the field and create matchup nightmares.

Either way, Michigan football has work to do at wideout in 2020 and making progress this weekend during Henning’s visit would be a great place to start.