Michigan sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has blue blood, his father a having been an All-American tackle himself in the early 1990s. Perhaps it wasn't surprising then that he took it harder than most when his line coach, Greg Mattison, bolted for Ohio State in the offseason.
Mattison went so far as to refer to U-M as "that team up North" at a recent press conference, eliciting a response from Wolverines past, present and future.
Hutchinson took it a step further after Saturday's spring game.
""Coach Matty ... he taught me so much when I got here, and I'm not taking any of that away from him," Hutchinson said. "But you get a big feeling of betrayal. He told me he was either retiring or he's renewing his contract, so I'm like, 'Oh, okay.' When I thought he was leaving. I was like, 'Oh, okay, whatever.' Then he said Ohio State. That kind of makes your stomach turn a little bit."
Hutchinson admitted he hadn't spoken with Mattison since he left, intimating he wasn't interested.
"I wouldn’t mind if he went to any other school," Hutchinson said. "But that [crap] kind of hurts.”
Veteran tackle Donovan Jeter, one of the spring standouts and an "on the rise" player according to teammates, was a bit more diplomatic.
"I'm a lot less filtered than Aidan," Jeter said. "I don't want to say anything bad about Matty because I messed up a lot off the field and he kept his faith in me. Matty could have just said, 'I'm done with this kid.' But he brought me along. He showed me how to play, how to stop the run, how to be a professional.
"But doing what he did, I can't. No comment."
By all accounts, new line coach Shaun Nua, who came to U-M from Arizona State, has a been a breath of fresh air. He's more hands on and brings energy to the room, Hutchinson said.
“I love him," Hutchinson said. "He’s a great guy. It’s a completely different experience from last year; very different and very new. He brings in the young aspect of coaching. He’s fiery. He’s taught me a lot already.”
Despite heavy losses, including elite ends Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary to the NFL, Hutchinson insists he has no concerns.
“I think our defensive line is going to be just fine," he said. “I’m 100 percent positive.I think our chemistry is unparalleled. This group of guys, the room we’ve got, I think no other room compares to it in the country.”
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