“How you overcome adversity is what football is all about, and ultimately what life is all about.”
Note: This is the second piece of a three-part series profiling Northwestern wide receiver A.J. Henning as he prepares for the NFL Draft. Read the first installment, covering Pro Day, here.
Forty-seven sweep to the left. Wishbone formation.
A.J. Henning still remembers that play call — the one that resulted in his first ever touchdown — even though he was only seven or eight at the time. Henning said he’ll never forget that feeling of scoring six for his team.
Now on the doorstep of the NFL Draft, Henning has been fortunate enough to replicate that scoring feeling plenty of times in his career. But although the former Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and All-Big Ten Team honoree makes scoring look effortless at times, Henning’s football story can’t be told without tales of adversity — ones that have molded him into the player and person on the verge of realizing his NFL dreams.
Henning would be the first to tell you that for a while, football came pretty easily for him. In pee wee ball, the receiver remembers being faster than everyone on the field and thinking, “When is it going to get hard?”. Once he got to Lincoln-Way East High School, Henning admitted the competition was much stiffer, but he still dazzled as a sophomore on the varsity team and described the game as slow for him.
All that positive momentum was stalled during Henning’s junior year when he suffered his first major injury — a hip pointer strain that sidelined him from an undefeated regular season run. Although he returned for the playoffs, the Griffins lost in the semifinals, with a dinged-up Henning unable to make as big of an impact as he knew he could. After that feeling, Henning vowed to work harder and keep his body right, resulting in an undefeated senior season and state championship.
Even now, availability is one of Henning’s greatest strengths. Northwestern coach David Braun praised Henning’s durability and consistency at Northwestern’s Pro Day, stating that Henning missed a single practice all year despite small nagging injuries all season.
Adversity struck Henning once again when Northwestern battled a coaching scandal that ousted Pat Fitzgerald only a week and a half after Henning arrived on campus. Instead of panicking, the transfer remained bought in and played a crucial role in Northwestern’s 8-5 turnaround season.
Even in preparation for the NFL Draft, Henning faced adversity when he was snubbed from the invite list to the NFL Combine and the Senior Bowl.
“I think it’s human nature to sit and think about why I wasn’t picked or look back at my season like, what more could I have done?” Henning said.
But after the initial disappointment, Henning instead opted to focus on his own process rather than the variables out of his control. So where does Henning’s attitude toward adversity come from?
“I think it stems from the love of the game,” Henning said. “You’re not always going to be winning. You’re not always going to make the play, not always going to win the game. And so it’s all about how you come back from adversity and how you can respond to it…How can you learn from the situation? How can you come back better because of it? How can you be a better person, better teammate, better player?”
In addition, Henning’s mother, Sharika Jefferson, plays a big role in keeping Henning grounded and motivated. Henning described her as someone he can lean on and talk to about anything.
“She’s like the biggest encourager, biggest motivator,” Henning said. “If there’s anybody who brings me back down and helps me turn the page, it’s her.”
Photo courtesy of A.J. Henning
According to Henning, Jefferson (who sports the handle @mysonisabeast on X) is the type of mom who has always been his number one supporter, from 47 sweep to the left over 15 years ago to Northwestern Senior Day.
“Every game in the stands, I could hear her screaming. She’s always there,” Henning said.
He smiled and remembered some instances in youth football where he would be embarrassed on the field when she cheered him on by calling him nicknames typically only used at home.
It’s all starting to become real for Henning, who by the end of this week, may have fulfilled his dreams of making it to the NFL. The little kid who picked out No. 23 for his first flag football jersey because he looked up to Bears legend Devin Hester is now taking visits to Halas Hall, where Hester’s jersey is hanging on display.
Henning said this week is the culmination of everything he’s been working toward his whole life, but even with pre-draft visits and interest from the likes of the Bears, Packers and Ravens, Henning is keeping things in perspective and continuing to focus on his “me versus me” process rather than the outside noise.
“I want to be better than I was yesterday,” Henning said. “I want to get closer to my ultimate dream and goal of playing in the NFL. And every day throughout my career leading up to this, I think that’s what was in the back of my head … It’s like, how do you think about this in the grand scheme of things when you get to the next level? So your dream was first to make it to the NFL. Now, what do you want to do? I want to be a starter on the NFL team. I want to be a Pro Bowler. I’ll just keep building every day, be better than you were yesterday to take little steps every day to get to your ultimate goal.”
That said, Henning will still take the time to enjoy Draft Day, which he plans on spending surrounded by family and friends. Whether he hears his name called or is signed as an undrafted free agent, Henning said getting the call will be a “pretty emotional time for everybody.”
“It’s going to be exciting,” Henning said with a smile.