Competitive dance, two dinners, choosing Michigan, Jim Harbaugh's advice: Best quotes from ‘Hutch’ episode one

Michigan Wolverines football defensive end Aidan Hutchinson teamed up with Pro Football Focus to produce the ‘Hutch’ podcast series that goes behind the scenes on the projected No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick’s life, family and football career.

PFF host Austin Gayle interviews a number of people close to Hutchinson, Michigan and the NFL. In episode one of four, Gayle sits down with Hutchinson, his family members, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter and more. They discuss topics ranging from Hutchinson’s childhood, the recruiting process, choosing Michigan and much more.

Here are the highlights from episode one:

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On participating in competitive dance growing up

Aidan’s father, Chris Hutchinson: “That was a big thing for us. My wife and I said, ‘You’re not playing tackle football until you’re in seventh grade.’ We had told him this when he was in elementary school, so that was something we stuck to our guns on. We encouraged him to do everything.

He did soccer, he did a little bit of cross country and a big chunk of his elementary school time and early middle school, he did dance, competitive dance, 20 hours a week.

“You’re in middle school, and you’re spending 20 hours a week at a dance school and doing national competitions, I think that went a long way to helping his core. Probably, to me, the biggest thing that danced helped him with was allowing him to think on the fly. They’d go right before a dance, they’d have the whole thing choreographed for three, four months, and they’d say, ‘OK, at this beat, we’re going to change everything!’ And it’s like, I don’t know how you think like that, but that’s what transitioned to football — these game-time adjustments that you make.”

Also playing lacrosse

Aidan Hutchinson: “It’s a fun sport; it’s growing super fast. I love hitting dudes. I was getting penalties just about every play. I’m sure the team didn’t like it very much, because I’m just so damn big and I’m hitting guys. In lacrosse you can get a lot of penalties for that.”

High school football career

Divine Child head coach John Filiatraut: “When he was a junior and a senior, he played every snap, every game. We made him come off the field, and he would be angry about it. He was our long snapper. I don’t think he played on our kickoff or kick return teams, but he was our punt snapper and he was our extra-point snapper. So he was literally on the field all the time. We wore him out. 

“As a junior, he played tackle, and I really thought as a junior he was going to grow into a really good tackle. He was good, he’s got huge hands and he’s got a really powerful punch. He just has some tools and a great body to be an offensive linemen. I thought that’s what he was going to grow into, and then he came to me before his senior year, and he wanted to catch the ball and score some touchdowns, he wanted to play tight end — and I thought, ‘Oh, man, we already got a tight end. Why don’t you want to stay and be the best tackle in Michigan?’ 

“Aidan would’ve been the best player at 10 out of the 11 spots on our team. Just a terrific player. He ended up playing tight end as a senior, and he can catch the ball. He could’ve been a Division I tight end if he wanted to.”

Eating two dinners

Aidan’s sister, Mia Hutchinson: “Almost every night, for a very long time, I swear, he would be in his room doing homework. We would hear bellowing throughout the house, ‘Aidan hungry!!!’ I swear to God, that’s not even a joke. That was a core memory. He would walk down the stairs, and that was when he was growing rapidly. He walks down the stairs, and I think he must’ve thought he was a viking — and he probably still does — but King of the North, he loves [Game Of Thrones character] Jon Snow. But literally walking down the stairs like, ‘I’m ready.’ He would have to eat two dinners every single night.

“And me and my sister were like, ‘Aidan gets two dinners?’ After we’d go out to dinner, my mom would be like, ‘He needs pizza. Someone go get him some pizza.’ And my sister and I would be like, ‘Can we have two dinners? Why can’t we have two dinners? This is not fair.’ He was so skinny, he was always so tall but so skinny for a while that when he really started getting that height and gaining weight in high school, he was this veracious monster who would come down the stairs and, ‘Aidan hungry!’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, God.’”

Growing up a Michigan fan

Aidan Hutchinson: “We were going to the games, going to the tailgates, and you see the players. You see The Big House entrance, and if you don’t want to be a part of that, you’ve got to be crazy. I was sitting there in the stands in row 19 and just watching those guys run out and touch the banner. Man, you want to be a part of that, so bad.”

Recruiting process

Chris Hutchinson: “We lived 20 minutes from campus. I did not want him to go there because I went there. I said, I will take you wherever you want to go. I want you to feel comfortable, you have to be comfortable with where you’re at. And if that meant he went to Michigan State, I was reluctantly happy for that, because again, I know how hard college football can be. And if you don’t love what you’re doing, if you don’t love where you’re at, you’re putting yourself at risk for not being successful.

“So I took him to Notre Dame, I took him to Ohio State, I took him to Michigan State. We went to Purdue, Wisconsin, all these places. I wanted him to feel comfortable there, and if he felt comfortable there, my wife and I were totally fine with wherever he went, because I know being a legacy is a challenging thing, especially a legacy who never lost to Ohio State and won five Big Ten championships. I really wanted him to make that choice, and I drilled that into him. I said, ‘This is your choice. Please don’t choose Michigan. If you’re comfortable somewhere else, please do.’”

Jim Harbaugh: “Having a great player right in our footprint, close to Ann Arbor, in Aidan Hutchinson, and Aidan being the son of a great Michigan football player, Chris Hutchinson — a true blue family all the way, everything just aligned right from the beginning.

“The process of getting to know Aidan, his sisters, his mom, his dad, everybody, it was always a pleasure. Here comes this great football player, also a great student and a gentleman, too. You could tell he was raised right, down to earth, genuine, great guy and great family. That continued all the way through his entire Michigan career.”

Aidan Hutchinson: “Getting that offer from Michigan was the most insane thing.”

‘Perfect gentleman’

Jim Harbaugh: “I never even shared this with Aidan, but my daughter, Grace, is on the water polo team here. She’s a junior, and her comment was, ‘Aidan’s a perfect gentleman around campus, and a great guy.’ It was no surprise, but as a coach, as a dad, that’s one of those compliments where it makes you feel good.”

Move-in day

Adam Schefter: “I remember bringing my son into his dorm room — West Quad, freshman year, August of 2018 or 2017, whatever that was — and being at the front desk. And there was a woman there by the name of Melissa Hutchinson, checking her son in, Aidan Hutchinson, to the same dorm. I remember talking to her, and her son has had a bigger impact on Michigan than my son has had over the last four years. I think it’s fair to say that.”

Jim Harbaugh’s advice for Aidan Hutchinson

Jim Harbaugh: “It’s tremendous; it’s working. I have no further advice for you. Just keep doing you, keep doing it the way you’re doing it.

“I would add one little thing — if you want to get a little better, then work a little harder. And I know this won’t happen, but just don’t ever get the big head, either. That’s a trap, that’s a trap, that’s one of those traps that’s a deep, dark, lonely place. Just keep doing you.

“Love you, man, and we’re always watching and always following, and forever proud.”