Notebook: Hutchinson’s New Role, Team's ‘Great Energy’ This Spring & More
Michigan junior defensive end turned linebacker Aidan Hutchinson is 100 percent and ready to contribute at his new position this fall, but one thing won’t change …
They still want him to get to the passer.
Much of that will depend on the rest of the front seven and their progress so Hutchinson can’t get double teamed, but he’s in great shape and made great strides this spring despite being held out of a lot of contact drills. His broken ankle is healed, and while defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald made the decision to shield him from most of the physical stuff, Hutchinson did get to partake in 7-on-7s, etc.
“Aidan got the experience of playing all positions up front from a linebacker perspective,” his dad, former Michigan defensive lineman and All-American Chris Hutchinson, said. “He’s got that feel for the game, what it looks like to not have your hand down, to see in the backfield and to have that disadvantage he has since his hand isn’t in the ground and he’s now 6-6. You’ve got to learn to re-center yourself and get low again. That’s something he had to work on.
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“My biggest concern was how he was going to manage getting off the ball, because I though his get off last year for when he was in there … it was getting really high level. I was curious to see from a two-point stance, because I hated two-point stances — I had to play that second half of my senior year – but he does a great job. He’s pretty much two-point stance first and second down; third down & obvious passing downs he’s going to put his hand down.”
Hutchinson earned third team All-Big Ten honors two years ago, notching 4.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, but he was held in check for most of three games last year. Macdonald is putting him in position now to make more plays, and that includes pass coverage.
Though it’s new to him, Hutchinson has responded well.
“He has never dropped before other than like a little zone blitz to get underneath, but I think playing tight end in high school will help him with some of that,” Chris Hutchinson said. “And because I think Mac wouldn’t let him do everything in practice, he played all linebacker positions up front 7-on 7 for skeleton. He learned to drop as a middle linebacker, as an outside linebacker, the opposite position, so he got really indoctrinated into what Mac wants.
“… I’ve seen him cover our tight ends 25 yards downfield, and there’s no separation there. Is he going to be in man a lot? No. is he going to cover the flat and curl. Absolutely. When I talked to Mac early, he said, ‘our job is to put our best pass rusher in the best position to win.’ There are going to be times he’s put in positions where he is going to have to drop. That’s fine. He’s ready for the challenge. They would prefer for him to be hand in the dirt and getting around the edge, making things happen that way.”
And he will be. Chris Hutchinson has been extremely impressed with what he’s heard about Macdonald and the defensive staff, confident his son will be put in good position this fall … and that the defense will take a step forward.
“Aidan has had nothing but great things to say, and it was interesting — Aidan also said, ‘our practices in the spring have never been like this before. There’s been so much energy; so much fun,” he said. “I’m hoping that translates on to the field, but Mac is really excited about Aidan. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do.”
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