Michigan Wolverines football fourth-year junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is back for one last ride in a winged helmet, and almost two weeks into training camp, he says opting to return to school instead of entering the NFL Draft was "the best decision I've ever made."

Coming off a leg injury that held him out of the majority of last season and forced him to be limited in spring ball, Hutchinson is a full participant in practices, and has a great grasp of the Wolverines' new defensive system under first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald.

"I thought it was going to be a bit more difficult with this new defense coming in — a lot of new schemes, a lot of new techniques, positions," Hutchinson said while appearing on Jon Jansen's 'In The Trenches' podcast. "It’s really all different, so I thought I was going to struggle a little bit getting used to the techniques at first, but I thought I hit the ground running and was playing well from the start. That was really encouraging for me. I think I picked up the defense really well. I’m feeling great in the position that I’m in, and I’m ready to roll."

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Hutchinson shed a few pounds this offseason, and is down to 265 pounds, saying he's feeling "as fast as ever," which will help now that his role includes dropping in pass coverage some and moving around more along the front of the 3-4 scheme.

He has high expectations for the entire defensive line, which has it's fair share of question marks surrounding it after posting just 4.2 tackles for loss per game last season (119th nationally). Hutchinson said it's different not having household names Kwity Paye and Carlo Kemp in the position group, but that others have stepped up now that they're off to the NFL.

"This defensive line has all the potential in the world," Hutchinson said. "Obviously, this is different than the past. Previously, we’ve had a lot of vets on the d-line, that’s how it’s been — me, Kwity, Carlo. But now, we’ve reloaded, we’ve got these young guys who have all the talent in the world but just have to put it together and do it on game day.

"That’s what I stress to these guys is, you can be a playmaker and a baller in practice, but if you don’t do it on Saturdays, we’re not going to win ball games. That’s something that I’ve tried to emphasize with these young guys, who are really just trying to find their way in this game and in this defense.

"I think we’re going to have a pretty nasty unit."

He feels the same way about the defense as a whole.

"It doesn’t matter who lines up across from us — whether it be the maize and blue jerseys of the offense [in practice] or the scarlet and gray or Western Michigan. Whoever lines up against us, they’re going to get the same Michigan defense, the same attacking mentality," Hutchinson said. "We’ve been running every single day, rolling. The stars feel like they’re aligning this year; everything just feels right about this defense, about this team. I think buy-in is at an all-time high."

Hutchinson has totaled 98 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles during his career at Michigan, and has been a force on the defensive line over the last three years.

But he says his legacy is not complete without doing two more things. Neither of those things have to do with stats.

"I want to win a Big Ten Championship. That’s something I haven’t achieved here at Michigan," he said. "I feel like it’s incomplete. Obviously, you can make all the plays you want. You can make all the sacks, TFLs, but you don't have a ring? There's a feeling of unfulfillment there, in my mind at least, so that's one thing. And I want to beat Ohio State.

"Hands down, those are the two things that I care about the most. I think if I play well this season, and we beat Ohio State, and we win the Big Ten championship, that will fulfill my legacy."

Here are some more highlights of what Hutchinson said in his conversation with Jansen.

• On other standouts on defense: "J-Ross [redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross] has been everything. I really like looking back and seeing him there, because I really think he’s the glue of our defense, because you need a good inside linebacker if you want to be successful.

"Even on the back end, you’ve got [fifth-year senior safety] Brad [Hawkins], [sophomore safety Dax [Hill]. At corner, you’ve got [redshirt sophomore] Vince [Gray], [redshirt sophomore] Gemon [Green], [redshirt freshman] DJ [Turner] and a bunch of other dudes. Especially in the back end, we’ve got some older guys. Brad has really stepped up in the role of leadership with those guys. Dax is kind of your quiet [guy], but he’ll smack anybody on that field.

"We have a nice blend of voices and a nice blend of leadership on our defense, at all three levels."

• On defensive line coach Shaun Nua returning to the staff: "Coach Nua, he’s the guy on the staff who I’m the closest with. I can really talk about anything with him, and I’m just super happy that [head] Coach [Jim] Harbaugh brought him back. He’s a good rock for this defense, having been here for about three years now, if I’m correct. Having him back is everything. That’s my guy; that’s who I’ve been rolling with for three years now, so it’s good to have a recognizable face in the midst of this whole new staff coming in."

• How he's feeling physically after training during the offseason: "It’s crazy, every year I see how much I’m able to develop physically — getting faster, stronger. It amazes me because you look back and you see what you did. You thought that was impressive, and then you top it the next year. I lost a little bit of weight this year, and I’m feeling as fast as ever and I got a lot of time to workout this offseason. I’ve been working out since November, so I’ve been moving a lot of weights for a long time. I’m just ready to get back to football."

• Excitement level for the season: "I have a different appreciation for the game. I’ve never really had an injury before, and being out — not being able to play ball — it sucks, and it was so hard, mentally, seeing your boys out there and you not being out there and having so much fun with them. But I’m just glad we turned that page, we moved on and, man, am I fired up to play Western Michigan on Sept. 4."

• His leadership: "Me being out, it was kind of the first time I really had to learn how to lead without actually playing in the game with the boys. It was tough, sitting on that sideline and watching my friends, just because it’s so hard to lead when you’re not out there. That’s something I had to learn how to do. In spring ball, I wasn’t out there, I wasn’t participating, and I had to lead from the sidelines.

"I think it definitely developed my leadership, in a great way. Just figured out every way to get that ounce of leadership out of me, and I thought it was a good thing. But now I’m back in action, so just getting back to the normal things."

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