Chris Hutchinson recaps Aidan Hutchinson’s ‘surreal’ football journey

Sam Webb: “It must be a magical feeling that you guys are, as a family, are having right now. Can you just take us through the emotions of it? What it's like day to day and what he's doing leading up to the draft?

Chris Hutchinson:  “The only word I keep coming back to, which doesn't even remotely do justice to it, is 'surreal'. I'm just sitting down to my usual routine and flip on SportsCenter, and Aidan's everywhere. And you're like, ‘that's weird.’ I flip open my app on my phone… my sports app… and he's everywhere. I usually don't even ingest it. I don't even know if I can deal with it. Especially the last week or so, it's just been this barrage of NFL draft stuff. And you're just trying to just appreciate it. But it's so hard because he just got on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And you're like, ‘what is this?’ I can't even put it into words. Surreal is the best word, but it doesn't even touch it.

Sam Webb: “I remember when we saw Aidan that summer (before his junior year. He’d burst on to the scene with his Michigan offer. You knew then that he was going to be good, but could you imagine this? Did you see this - not just first round pick - but no. 1 in the draft? Was that something that you envisioned as a possibility way back in the day?”

Chris Hutchinson: “Oh, absolutely not. Even when he was a senior going to Michigan I told my wife, 'ah,you know what, he's probably a third or fourth rounder.’ And she likes to hold that against me, now. She's like, ‘don't you ever tell him that?’ I’m like, ‘what? I mean, I'm a realist. I see. I know what it's like. Come back for your senior year and that's what happens. When you come back for your senior year all sorts of great things happen. If there's a poster child for 'Those Who Stay Will Be Champions', other than Bo, I'm pretty sure it's Aidan.”

Sam Webb: “So what about that (decision to stay) in retrospect? He had a decision to make last year. He could have gone last year and had been drafted. When you look at the reasons for coming back, can you lay out what those were?  Because, obviously it wound up being an unbelievable decision for his future.”

Chris Hutchinson: “You know, I don't think he really wanted to come out. And that's what I told Jim Harbaugh… that it was almost like he was going to be forced to come out if he had a junior year like we thought he was going to have, and he was going to be in the first round. Because most people, when they think they're going to be in the first round it's really hard to stay around and risk injury. And when the injury happened in that Indiana game it sealed the deal. It made the decision that much easier... Because, he wasn't going to be able to do anything at the combine if he was going to come out as a junior.”

”So it was like, 'you know what… ‘I want to be able to compete and show them what I'm able to do. I'm not this ‘high motor’ guy and that's all I do, and that's how I win'. He knew he had a lot more to show people and I think that's what he wanted to do. That was the first part of it. The second part was he felt that this team could do something and he wanted to be a part of it. He wanted to take this team and do everything he could... he was willing to die for it… to beat Ohio State and win the Big 10 Championship”

Sam Webb: “You know, I laugh now when... because when you watch or you listen to Aidan in a press conference, he is very, very complimentary of the competition, (He) isn't a smack talker in press conferences. But boy, you can really see it on the field. So, I wasn't at all surprised when he's waving the protection his way. He saves (the talk) for the field, but when he says it on the field, you really know it. And that really showed up in that Ohio State game.”

Chris Hutchinson: “I think that's partly from doing things the right way that I've instilled in him, and my wife teaching him. When you're between the lines you're allowed to be aggressive. But when you're in a press conference, let's be respectful. Honestly, I think, to me, he's a lot more emotional on the field than I was. Sometimes I cringe a little bit. Like, before the Michigan State game when he was a sophomore. Right before the (game)... because we're allowed to see them right before they go to the stadium…. I saw him (and) I go, 'Aidan, whatever you do, you know what this game is going to be like… don't get a 15-yard penalty.' And what does he do in the first quarter? He claims he said nothing, but the referee heard something and flagged him for 15 yards. He's still sticking to that story that it was somebody else that said it; he did nothing. But I've seen him, obviously, through high school, and he can get chippy on the field. So, I know that he wants to stick to his story. But I know that he got the penalty, which is what I asked him not to get.”

Sam Webb: “Coming out of high school and going into Michigan, you said, ‘hey, who knows; he may be a third or fourth round pick. When we talked to you right after the regular season you said, 'hey, Aidan could go no. 1, but hey he might slide to no. 6. That ain't happening, Chris. (Laughter). He's not sliding to six. I am curious: how many teams - without necessarily having to get specific - how many teams as has he met with? How many teams have come to meet with him, or called him out to this point?”

Chris Hutchinson:  Actually, we - with his agent - made the decision to limit it to the top five because we saw how well he's going to do. And these teams; they will run you ragged. Luckily for Aidan he was still able to train. But some of these guys that he trained with in California, they had 15-plus NFL visits, and that's all they did this last month was travel. And we really didn't want that. We didn't think that was necessarily appropriate, fortunately, for his position. So, we made the decision (to say): "hey, if you're not in the top five and you want to talk to him, you need to show us how you're going to go and get him. And if you're not serious about it, then it's fine. We appreciate the offers but we're going to hold off."

”And I'll tell you what I've been telling everybody, because this is a question I get a lot… right now with the slightly more information than you have… which isn't very much… about where he's gonna go. I think he's probably 60% Jags, 30% Lions, and 10% something else. Just because we all know that this is the beauty pageant. And you know beauty - as the adage says - is in the eye of the beholder. And these guys are liable to do anything on draft day. So, I always have to leave a little bit out there. Who knows what's going to happen? But obviously, either of those top two would be awesome, and all the top five have their bonuses. Because he visited everybody in the top five.”

Sam Webb: “Man, no. 2 this year is like no. 1, as far as I'm concerned. Because it would be an unbelievable spot if he were a Detroit (Lion). I know you can imagine if he were a Lion.”

Chris Hutchinson: “Well, I can tell you this the perfect thing would be the Lions to trade up and take him at number one, but obviously it's very rare for them too. Normally, it's got to be one of those pretty bright quarterbacks that they go after. They're not going to do that for an edge rusher. So, we'll see. Maybe Trent Baalke will decide he wants to go in another direction, which is fine. And the Lions will keep Aidan home, but you never know. I was actually just watching the 2005 Aaron Rodgers draft saga last night. And you're just watching this poor kid just plummet, plummet, plummet... and you're like, any of these things are possible. I mean, I don't anticipate that to happen. But Aidan is certainly prepared for any sort of craziness to happen, because I have kept him well informed about how these things can roll.”

Sam Webb: Let me say something Chris… if Aidan's on the board at no. 2 and the Lions pass on him, everyone (in that organization) should quit! Holmes should quit! Everyone should be out of Detroit if that happens. I cannot imagine they would have a job to come home to if they were to do that. But, let me back up a little bit and give you some more credit because we sat on the show  before his junior year and you said, "hey, they're saying he's Bosa-like, in camp. They said he's Bosa-like". And man, these Buckeyes... they came from everywhere! And if they were coming from me, I know they were coming for you. (Laughter). Just at the Combine alone, Chris: Aidan, he runs a 4.74 and puts up a 36-inch vertical. Last I checked that was better than both Bosa brothers. And if he goes no. 1  that would be better than both Bosa brothers, too.

Chris Hutchinson: “Well, let's talk about those agility drills. That was his claim to fame there. I mean, he was, what… fifth and sixth overall amongst all of them? The only people that beat him were two defensive backs and two wide receivers? I mean, that's where Aidan excels. He's not a 4.5 40 guy, but damn... you’d hard pressed to find anybody that's any quicker than Aidan; wide receiver, running back, anybody. And when you put that in Aidan's 6-6, 265-pound frame, it makes it that much more impressive.

“And let me just set the record straight, Sam. Technically speaking, you said people are talking about Aidan and Bosa. So, I just responded. My wife was particular about it. I didn't bring up the Bosa part. I answered your question. But I didn't deny that. When you look at them on paper and their numbers and their positions they play, it is. They are very, very similar. But you know, neither of them got three sacks and 15 pressures against Michigan when they played. So, you know, they are a little different.”

Sam Webb: “Listen, I'm fine taking credit for that. (Laughter) I'm fine.  That's cool!”

Chris Hutchinson: “All right. You can claim that. I was just responding to this, 'this is what he looks like coming out of camp'. But, you know, the Buckeyes can scream and yell all they want. I love... that's what makes this rivalry so great and what made that beat down in Ann Arbor, in the snow when they all had the flu, and awesome experience for us.”

Sam Webb: “Alright, so this is an easy question for you. And I understand you're a biased source, but I don't care. Tell me what... I'm an NFL team. What am I getting if I draft Aidan Hutchinson - on the field and off the field?”

Chris Hutchinson: “So, let's just start with the on the field, that's the easiest stuff to go to. His production was excellent. I mean, you don't set a Michigan all-time school record for sacks, get double teamed all the time, and not be a special player. So, I think that was what stands out there against some of the other edge defenders is what he did on the field. And then you compare that to the leader. I mean, you saw him at Big 10 media days in the summer. He's willing to die for this. Most people were saying - at tops - seven wins. I thought seven wins was going to be their sort of ceiling. Aidan just kept telling me: "something's different. I don't know what it is.’. I told Aidan he had a 20% chance of beating Ohio State the week of Ohio State, and he looked at me with not a very pleasant look. That's what you get from him.

“And then you get this guy who just absolutely loves football. I mean, he graduated in three and a half years. He was an Academic All American. But you ask him 'What's plan B?', he says the NFL. 'Okay well what's plan C? 'It's the NFL'. He is completely dialed in. This is all that he wants to do. There is no outside interest. These other things, like playing video games and the ukulele… those are just a pastime to get to the next workout and to get to the next game. I mean, this is how dialed in this guy is. And you get a guy that he's not gonna embarrass you off the field. If anything, he's gonna bring a positive light on your organization. So, if you want to talk about checking all the boxes, Aidan does it.”

Sam Webb: “Before we let you go… I almost forgot to ask you about is when Aidan started playing football, he wasn't a guy that you had running around in Little Tykes or in peewee league. What was behind the decision about the timing of when you started allowing him to play football?

Chris Hutchinson: “It came from when I started. I mean, for whatever reason, Tom Landry was ahead of his time, in my perspective. So, I grew up in Texas. And so my parents wouldn't let me play until seventh grade because that was kind of what Tom Landry said. And so, we adopted the same thing. I was firmly in the belief that, number one, you have to have fun. And no. 2, if you're going to play a game, like football, you need to be ready because it's rough on the body, rough on the mind, and there's so many other things to do. And he agreed to that but then realized once we got one year out that flag football just wasn't cutting it for him. And we stuck to our guns and said, 'we said seventh grade...', We kept him in lacrosse and dance and doing everything else.”

“I think, especially for a game like football where you have so many other skills that can contribute to your success, doing all these other things... no one can tell me that they didn't help Aidan have the success that he had. And it probably limited some of the abuse on his body. I mean, we wouldn't even let him lift weights until high school. A lot of these guys are getting their kids in there. I'm like, ‘you can do bands and stretching and explosiveness and agility, but I'm not a big fan of pre-high school, serious bench/squat/deadlift. I just don't think it's great for the kids. I think you can do so many other things nowadays that aren't impacting their fresh cartilage and their joints, and keep it fun. Because let's be honest, so few of these kids are actually going to - let alone play D1 football - have a chance to the NFL. So, you have got to have fun, turn it into a family affair, and make this part of your family just having fun at football games and sporting events and let's not get too carried away.”

To listen to the interview with Chris Hutchinson in its entirety, press play below.