Two Michigan football players in PFF’s ‘breakout candidates’ for 2022
Michigan returns just about every playmaker on the offensive side of the ball from last year’s College Football Playoff team, save for Hassan Haskins.
With so much returning production, does the Wolverines really have anyone that could really breakout on the offensive side of the ball? According to PFF, the maize and blue have two players that could have a breakout campaign for 2022.
Anthony Treash made a list of 31 breakout candidates for the upcoming football season, and he lists both Donovan Edwards and AJ Henning in his article.
Donovan Edwards will be a big focal point for the Michigan offense this upcoming season with the departure of Hassan Haskins. The duo of Blake Corum and Edwards should create a dynamic one-two punch for the Wolverines. The former five-star running back has shown the capabilities of being a true Swiss-Army knife for the maize and blue: great hands out of the backfield with a good sense of finding the open running lane behind an experienced offensive line. He finished the season last year carrying the rock 35 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns, and he also finished fifth on the team with 20 receptions for 265 yards and one score.
Treash seems to agree and here is what he had to say about the former West Bloomfield product:
Edwards was the Wolverines’ second-highest-ranked recruit in 2021 after quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The running back first emerged onto the scene in Week 12’s win at Maryland, when he caught 10 targets for 170 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield en route to a 92.0 receiving grade. Edwards finished with 3.79 yards per route run and a 74.3 receiving grade on 70 routes for the season.
The second player that could be on a breakout watch is WR/returner AJ Henning.
The former four-star recruit is a true do-it-all type of player. Henning has emerged as a true threat running the ball when the Wolverines do their wide receiver reverse. Henning ended the season last year carrying the ball nine times for a staggering 162 yards (18 yards-per-carry) while adding two scores. On the receiving end of things, Henning only caught 10 passes for 79 yards, but we can expect that to change this season since Michigan should want the ball in its explosive playmaker’s hands.
PFF sees Michigan using Henning as a Deebo Samuel type of role out of the backfield, and using him in any way possible. Here is what Treash had to say about Henning.
There are several breakout candidates on this year’s talented Wolverines team, but Henning is among the best, as the 2020 fringe top-100 recruit has the skill set to be an elite, dynamic weapon for the Blue. Henning showed flashes on end-arounds and sweeps last season, taking nine end-arounds/reverses for 162 yards and two touchdowns in addition to three sweeps for 39 yards. He also took a trick kick return to the house and averaged 9.4 yards per punt return across 29 such attempts. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound weapon is a slippery athlete and is a threat to convert a big gain anytime the ball is in his hands. Head coach Jim Harbaugh actually said during the spring that they envision a Deebo Samuel-esque role for Henning in 2022, including reps at running back. Henning is a pure gadget player until he can expand on his route tree, but either way, he’s destined to be a valuable weapon for Michigan’s offense in 2022.
A few others that could have a breakout season may be JJ McCarthy, Luke Schoonmaker, or Andrel Anthony.
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