[jwplayer SDAarnTu-XNcErKyb]
Aidan Hutchinson was just getting started.
Though he got some early playing time his freshman year in 2018, it wasn’t until 2019 that he really started to get the hang of this college football thing. Starting opposite Kwity Paye, the sophomore was the 37th-best edge rusher last season, according to PFF. While he was looking to build on that in 2020, he won’t get a chance this fall with the Big Ten postponing the season presumptively to either the winter or the spring.
But, given the uncertainty that that will happen — especially considering his dad, an ER doctor at Beaumont Royal Oak, is skeptical about what the conference will do in the future — the younger Hutchinson isn’t sure when, or even if, he’ll get to strap on the winged helmet once again.
Appearing on ESPN personality Marty Smith’s podcast last week, Hutchinson seems intent to play if there’s a winter or spring season in the conference. But if that gets canceled? Well, he’s not so sure whether or not he’ll wear maize and blue ever again.
“There are a lot of factors,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve talked to my parents multiple times. If this fall season really falls through, I’m gonna keep training, keep working out. If the spring season falls through, that’s when decisions will have to be made. I’m gonna have to weigh all my options at that point, because from now until next fall – what’s gonna change from now until next fall in terms of COVID? My dad doesn’t think much is gonna change. He thinks Michigan will stay at this low-COVID state for another year. He thinks the same outcome could happen next fall.
“That could mean – if I were to stay at Michigan for next fall and that season would be canceled, I wouldn’t have played football for three years. I’d enter the league without playing football for three years. So it puts me at a big disadvantage at that level. That’s another factor I have to weigh in. I’m just trying to play football as soon as I can. But I have to go about it in a smart way.
“There will be decisions made in the next few months.”
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For now, Hutchinson is focused on getting better, gearing up for a Michigan-specific player-combine that the team is hosting this fall.
With that taking place on Oct. 24 at The Big House — the date that the Wolverines were set to play rival Ohio State in the revamped Big Ten-only schedule — Hutchinson is making the most of his current situation.
“When we got the news – Harbaugh’s a guy that when he gets information, bad news something like that, he’s gonna take it and he’s gonna move on,” Hutchinson said. “So it took me about a day to process the whole thing. The next day, we move on.
“Now we’re preparing for our own combine in October. We’re preparing for 10 weeks, so we’re training for 10 weeks. Right now, I’m just focused on running the fastest 40, running the fastest 5-10-5, bench pressing the most weight I can. My focus has kind of shifted. I feel like I am more driven now. I felt a little lost for a minute there without a season. Now I feel like I have more goals to achieve. I’m ready to move on and attack this combine.”