D'Angelo: Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson surpasses dad on football field

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Michigan linebacker David Ojabo knows greatness when he sees it. So Ojabo approached Aidan Hutchinson during the summer and told his teammate he was going to be in his "hip pocket," soaking up everything he could from "a top five guy."

But even the two-time member of the Big Ten All-Academic team underestimated Hutchinson's greatness.

As it turned out, top five did not do Hutchinson justice. How about top two ... as in Heisman Trophy voting and his projected overall spot in the NFL Draft.

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"It was a smart thing to do," Ojabo said Tuesday. "To have someone who knows the ways and having someone to follow ... it's translated throughout the season. We just feed off each other."

No. It was brilliant. Hutchinson made history in his fourth season at Michigan, one that came to be because of a season-ending ankle injury early in his junior year.

He was the fourth defensive player in college football history to land in the top two of the Heisman Trophy voting, finishing behind quarterback Bryce Young of Alabama. He was the Lombardi Award winner as the best lineman, Hendricks Award winner as the best defensive end and Lott Trophy winner as the best defensive player.

Of course, he was a consensus All-American and the Big Ten player of the year and, to top it off, the MVP of the Big Ten championship game. That Big Ten title came one week after Hutchinson recorded three of his team record 14 sacks in a 42-27 victory over Ohio State that validated Michigan's season and the school's patience with coach Jim Harbaugh.

“He was impressive on film the whole year,” Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “It was kind of like, ‘Who’s 97? He can play.’ ”

Georgia must deal with Hutchinson

Now, Hutchinson no longer is Ohio State's or the Big Ten's problem. He is Georgia's problem, the team No. 2 Michigan (12-1) faces Friday at Hard Rock Stadium in the College Football Playoff semifinal. The Bulldogs were successful keeping quarterback Stetson Bennett clean this year, allowing 11 sacks, tied for second fewest in the country (behind, ironically, Michigan) among non-service academy schools.

And it's not as if No. 3 Georgia (12-1) hasn't prepared for or seen a relentless pass rusher. Two players in the country had more sacks than Hutchinson this season. One of those, Alabama's Will Anderson, had one sack in the Tide's 41-24 stunner over Georgia in the SEC title game, handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

"Man, he's huge," Georgia running back Zamir White said of the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Hutchinson.

"He's a fast guy, and he's a vet player. And just knowing what he's like and just seeing him on film, it's crazy, man. The guy is like really a dominant player."

Hutchinson's rise in 2021 parallels that of his team's. Michigan was nowhere to be found in the preseason polls and never even appeared until sneaking in at No. 25 in Week 3. Similarly, Hutchinson was nowhere to be found in the preseason Heisman Trophy odds, slowing gaining momentum as the Wolverines started to climb.

And it took that victory over Ohio State, ending an eight-game Michigan losing streak, to make believers of the player and the program.

"I really believed that no one was going to be able to block me because I have the power, I have the speed. I have the whole package," Hutchinson recently said.

That game started the momentum that got Hutchinson to New York for the Heisman ceremony. It then started to build the next week when he became the first defensive player ever to be named MVP of the Big Ten title game in Michigan's victory over Iowa.

That's when "Hutch for Heisman" officially became a thing.

Hutchinson may have fallen short of joining former Michigan legend Charles Woodson, the only defensive player to win the Heisman, but that's not the primary goal, not with Michigan's first national championship since 1997 in site.

"This is the best Christmas gift I could have asked for," Hutchinson said on Christmas, the day Michigan arrived in South Florida.

Perhaps this was all meant to be for Hutchinson ... coming to Michigan, wearing No. 97, playing on the defensive line for four seasons, breaking the school record for sacks, winning the Big Ten title, achieving All-American honors.

Chris Hutchinson set the bar

Because all of that was was his dad, Chris, 29 years earlier. Chris Hutchinson, No. 97, was a defensive tackle for Michigan's Big Ten 1992 champions, was a first-team All-American and set the school record for sacks with 11.

Like father, like son.

“It was crazy,” Aidan Hutchinson said after he set the sack record against Ohio State. “I can’t really put it into words. I really just wanted to beat my dad. I went a little farther. It’s so cool ...

"He really inspired me and seeing him on the walls in our football building, I think it made me want to be like him and I think that's something I did."

It's safe to say Aidan will continue to surpass his dad, at least athletically. Chris signed as a free agent with the Browns in 1993 but never played in the NFL. He developed complications from a tetanus shot, which forced his retirement. He became a doctor.

Aidan's post-Michigan career likely will be about causing pain (for quarterbacks and running backs) and not fixing it. The only question is whether Hutchinson or Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux, another edge rusher, will be selected by Jacksonville or Detroit, the two teams in the clear lead for the first overall pick.

Aidan Hutchinson knows who should be No. 1.

"I think I'm a very elite edge player," he said. "And I proved that this year."

College football playoffs

Friday's semifinals

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m.

Cotton Bowl, ESPN

No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia, 7:30 p.m.

Orange Bowl, ESPN

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Georgia faces Heisman Trophy runner-up Aidan Hutchinson in Orange Bowl