Jim Harbaugh slew the dragon on Saturday, leading the Michigan Wolverines to victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time in his seven-year stint as head coach. It was an absolutely dominant performance and put the Wolverines in the driver’s seat for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
They’ll have to beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game first and Harbaugh met with reporters via Zoom on Monday to discuss the big game to come following the big game that just was.
While Harbaugh talked plenty about Iowa and how his team is trying to refocus following the epic rivalry victory, he singled out defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. When asked about how he would make the case for Hutchinson to Heisman Trophy voters, Harbaugh made his feelings pretty clear.
“The records he’s set — there’s been some awfully good players here at Michigan that haven’t done what Aidan Hutchinson has done,” said Harbaugh. “Just read one where he had 15 pressures on the quarterback — never been done since they’ve been keeping track of that statistic. He is, and I’ve said it about Hassan Haskins, those two players — Hassan Haskins, Aidan Hutchinson — I think very much should be in consideration for the Heisman Trophy. I think you’ll see it.
“I’d also have the same message for NFL scouts and teams that — if there’s a better player out there that’s draft-eligible than Aidan Hutchinson, I have not seen that player. I can tell you what I have seen is every single down he plays, he doesn’t take a play off. Quite the opposite. And he’s the same way in practice. Athletically, strength, speed, he’s gonna check every single box on and off the field. I don’t know who has the first pick in the draft, but they should be studying very thoroughly Aidan Hutchinson — and they should take him.”
Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson is delivering! 2 sacks and drew the holding call on last drive, as well. There are some teams split on Hutchinson and Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux as DE1 in the 2022 class. Hutchinson is making his case so far today.
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) November 27, 2021
Hutchinson was a star in Michigan’s major win on Saturday. He became Michigan’s single-season sacks leader with 13 after netting three during the game. The projected first-rounder also has 54 tackles on the year, but his dominance is often hard to quantify in the way he affects offenses.
I wish Aiden Hutchinson would stop playing so well. The poor guy is risking becoming a Detroit Lion.
— friend.tech (@frjendtech) November 27, 2021
As it stands, there’s a decent chance Hutchinson will be in the running for the Heisman Trophy, as oddsmakers have him among the favorites. Of course, the odds he’ll win remain very low as only one defensive player has ever won the trophy (Charles Woodson). But just being invited might be the prize while Hutchinson prepares to be an extremely high NFL draft pick.
