A top draft prospect to watch for the Orange Bowl: Aidan Hutchinson
MIAMI — David Ojabo had the plan in place since Michigan began its summer practices. The junior linebacker, set to be a starter for the first time, was going to have a mentor. He had no question who he wanted to follow.
So he approached senior edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
“I just told him I was going to be in his hip pocket,” Ojabo said. “Just knowing he was going to be a top-five guy, it was a smart thing to do, to have someone who knows the ways and having someone to follow. It's translated throughout the season. We just feed off each other. You go up, I go under, you go under, I go up. We just do our thing.”
Ojabo clearly made the right choice. Hutchinson is nearing the end of a breakout senior season — a year in which he was a consensus All-american, finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, won the Ted Hendricks Award given to college football's top defensive end, set the school's single-season sack record and is poised to be one of the first players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He also has Michigan in uncharted waters, with the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff for the first time in the eight years since the four-team playoff format began. No. 2 Michigan plays its semifinal Friday against No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.
This just one year after Hutchinson sustained a seasonending ankle injury three games into the Covid-shortened 2020 season, a season in which Michigan went 2-4.
Now, the Wolverines are Big Ten champions, beat Ohio State for the first time since 2011 and are two wins from winning their first national championship since 1997.
“Just thinking about it, I know
that was always a goal of ours to beat Ohio State, to win a Big Ten Championship,” Hutchinson said, “but when you're in the thick of it, when you're in the meat and potatoes of everything, it's hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel because it was dark there for a while now, and it was just us grinding and grinding and getting after it and not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing the outcome. I think that's what makes us so special is the way that we worked.
“Now we're sitting here, Big Ten champions, competing for a Natty. Man, this team has just really come so far.”
Hutchinson on an individual level has made strides, too. The results are showing on the stat sheet and on the draft boards.
The 6-6, 265-pound defensive end has been dominant all season. His 14 sacks are a Michigan single-season record — breaking the previous mark of 12 set by David Bowens in 1996 and matched by Lamarr Woodley in 2006 — and rank third in the country this season behind Alabama's Will Anderson Jr. and Army's Andre Carter II (15.5 each). Hutchinson had three sacks in Michigan's 42-27 win over Ohio State to break the school record and added another sack and four tackles in the Wolverines' blowout win over Iowa in the Big Ten title game to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Hutchinson, the son of Michigan All-american defensive lineman Chris Hutchinson, also leads the Wolverines with 12 quarterback hurries and 15 tackles for loss while also recording 58 tackles, two forced fumbles and three pass breakups heading into Friday's semifinal.
He's a big reason Michigan ranks fourth in scoring defense (16.1 points allowed per game) and 11th nationally in total defense (316.2 yards allowed per game).
“When everybody decides that they want to do it a certain way, that's a powerful thing,” Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said, “and then we have the right guys to kind of spearhead that charge. ... [Hutchinson's] definitely the guy that spearheads that type of personality.”
His draft stock has risen as a result of his performance.
ESPN'S Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd Mcshay both Hutchinson at No. 1 on their big boards.
“Hutchinson plays a powerful game and is truly relentless in pursuit,” Mcshay wrote earlier this month. “He also has fast eyes and locates the ball really well. I also like his inside move and his ability to line up on either side and drop in coverage will be valuable to NFL teams.”
And the respect for his game play extends beyond his teammates, his opponents and the draft pundits.
Add Georgia coach Kirby Smart's youngest son Andrew to that mix.
Smart said he turned on the Big Ten Championship when he got home after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship game and Andrew, an avid college football fan, started telling dad about Michigan's players.
Hutchinson was the first player he brought up.
“I'm like, ` How does my 9-year-old son now about Aidan Hutchinson?'” Smart said.
“He knew everything about him, was giving me all these stats.”
All Hutchinson could do is laugh when he heard about the interaction.
“It's a blessing,” Hutchinson said. “It's really cool. It was really a funny thing, and maybe I'll meet his son after the game.”
Before that meeting happens, though, Hutchinson has a game to focus on.
“Now,” Hutchinson said, “we've just got to finish the job.”