Aidan Hutchinson on draft process, who succeeds him as leader at Michigan

Aidan Hutchinson left Michigan football’s pro day on Friday the same way he entered it – as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The pass rusher is not so brash as to declare himself the best player in the class, but he feels his resume speaks for itself.

“I can’t speak to that,” Hutchinson said. “I haven’t seen every player. But I’m very confident in my ability and whatever team that gets me is getting a hell of a football player.”

RELATED: Wolverine TV: Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan players speak from Pro Day

Hutchinson is the betting favorite to come off the board as the No. 1 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. To this point, he has done just about everything he can to sell himself to teams at the top of the board.

“We closed that book with the combine and pro day,” he said. “It’s over now. All those numbers are behind me. My application is pretty much complete at this point so now it is in the team’s hands. I have a couple of team visits, but that’s the easy stuff. The hard stuff is out of the way and now we can start focusing on some ball.”

The process can be a grind for prospects. Hutchinson did everything he could athletically to showcase his skillset to teams. Now, he relaxes and gets ready for visits to the top five teams in the draft order. The list includes Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston and the New York Jets and Giants.

“[The process] was looming over my head,” Hutchinson said. “You are training for combine prep for two months for one day. And a stressful four days leading up to it. I can definitely take a deep breath after I knock these interviews out.”

Could Hutchinson stay home?

The theory in league circles is that the Detroit Lions would sprint to the podium to turn in the pick if Hutchinson were still on the board at No. 2. This would put him in line to play for the hometown team, playing his high school ball just down the road at Dearborn Divine Child.

“It’s awesome to be in that position,” Hutchinson said. “I’m extremely fortunate to be here in this place and we have come a long way at Michigan. To be where I am at now and the position that I’m in, I’m very fortunate.

“If I were to end up in Detroit, it would definitely make the transition easier, because I know it is hard. Staying close to home and being close to family would have a lot of benefits for me in that sense.”

Michigan changed its defense last year to resemble more of an NFL-style look under former coordinator Mike Macdonald, who returned to the Baltimore Ravens this offseason. That allowed Hutchinson to play in a system with multiple looks and helped his versatility as a football player.

“Coach Macdonald had that NFL style of defense, so it will definitely make that transition easier,” Hutchinson said. “I have a great support system at my back, too. Wherever I go, I will have my parents and my sisters and my whole team behind me.”

Regardless of where he goes, Hutchinson knows he has the support of his family, headlined by his mother Melissa and father Chris.

“My mom is more someone I can talk to about different life situations,” he said. “She is very into all of that. My dad is more wired for getting things done. I can really rely on both of them to get a nice blend of different feedback from both of them. I’m very fortunate.”

Who leads Michigan into the future

What Michigan does on defense in a post-Hutchinson era is not much of his concern, but he did shed some light on what the future could hold. The Wolverines lose 25 sacks off their defense with he and David Ojabo off to the NFL. He sees a situation where the offense might need to lead the way, but has a handful of candidates for who can lead defensively.

“We’ll see,” Hutchinson said. “Offensively they have a lot of guys back. Defensively, we lose six dudes. There are not a lot of older guys on that defense. I don’t know who is going to step up, but we are going to see. Definitely Mike Morris, Mazi Smith and the defensive line. We have a young linebacker crew. The secondary is also young. Upfront, the leaders will come.

“I can see Mike [Morris being the guy]. The thing is these guys are young. They have not quite been through the trenches and the hard times. We’ll see.”

Hutchinson may not have a hand in what comes next, but he feels like what his senior class did set Michigan up for the future. The template is there.

“Can’t control what they do, but we set the standard as leaders this past season,” he said. “We set the example. If we want to continue to be on that path of winning, those guys should definitely follow the path we laid last year.”