Michigan football MVP, several other awards announced

Michigan had a number of candidates for team MVP this year, but one stood out for the Big Ten champions. Senior defensive end/outside linebacker Aidan Hutchinson earned the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player as voted by his teammates.

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The Heisman Trophy finalist was also the team’sDefensive Player of the Year.

The Michigan MVP award became the Bo Schembechler Award starting in 1995. Hutchinson is the 25th recipient of the honor named after Michigan’s winningest coach (no awards given in 2020) and the first defensive end to win the honor since Chase Winovich in 2018.

The Michigan captain is also the fourth defensive player to win the honor in the six times it has been awarded under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Hutchinson notched a program-record 14.0 sacks among his 58 total tackles, capturing the Rotary Lombardi Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy. He is a also a CoSIDA Academic All-American, a consensus first team All-American, the Big Ten Woodson-Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year, the Big Ten Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year, and the Big Ten Grange-Griffin Championship Game MVP.

Relentless as a pass rusher, Hutchinson recorded more quarterback pressures (15) against Ohio State than any player in any game since the stat was first tracked by Pro Football Focus. He notched seven sacks in his last four games despite being double-teamed on many of his snaps, and three in a 42-27 upset of Ohio State.

Michigan linebacker Josh Ross captured the Roger Zatkoff Award as the team’s top linebacker. He led the Wolverines in tackles with 95 (49 solo) in 13 games, including 8.5 tackles for loss.

Several U-M seniors honored

Senior offensive tackle Andrew Stueber, meanwhile, won the Hugh H. Rader Memorial Award, given to the team’s top lineman. He started all 13 contests and earned second-team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association. He was also a first-team team All-Big Ten pick by the media, leading a Michigan rushing attack that ranks 10th in the country.

The Michigan line has allowed the fewest sacks and third-fewest tackles for loss in the NCAA this season, and Stueber is a big reason why.

Third-Year defensive tackle Mazi Smith won the Richard Katcher Award, which is given to the Michigan most outstanding defensive lineman or outside linebacker. Smith’s 35 tackles (15 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss and four breakups didn’t do his contribution justice. He was huge in establishing the line of scrimmage all year.

Ross and Michigan senior punter Brad Robbins shared The Robert P. Ufer Bequest honoring the senior who displays the most enthusiasm and love for Michigan.

Michigan elected two recipients of the Dr. Arthur D. Robinson Scholarship Award, one for undergraduate studies and one for graduate school. Joshua Luther, an engineering major with a concentration in computer and data science, won the former. Andrew Vastardis, pursuing a master’s degree of science and physiology, earned the award for grad students.

Michigan center Vastardis also earned CoSIDA Academic All-American (second team) honors earlier this month.

Michigan will face Georgia in the Dec. 31 Orange Bowl, also an NCAA Playoff semifinal

Michigan football award winners, 2021

Bo Schembechler MVP: Aidan Hutchinson

Dr. Arthur D. Robinson Scholarship Award: Andrew Vastardis (graduate), Josh Luther (undergraduate)
Robert P. Ufer Bequest: Josh Ross, Brad Robbins 
Roger Zatkoff Award: Josh Ross 
Richard Katcher Award: Mazi Smith 
Hugh H. Rader Memorial Award: Andrew Stueber  

The above six are original team awards presented by the U-M Club of Greater Detroit

Toughest Player Award: Hassan Haskins  
Blue Collar Award: Andrew Vastardis
Rookie of the Year (Offense): Andrel Anthony, Donovan Edwards, J.J. McCarthy 
Rookie of the Year (Defense): Junior Colson, Rod Moore 
Rookie of the Year (Special Teams): Rod Moore  
Offensive Player of the Year: Hassan Haskins   
Defensive Player of the Year: Aidan Hutchinson 
Michigan Special Teams Player of the Year: Rod Moore   
Offensive Skill Player of the Year: Erick All, Blake Corum, Cornelius Johnson, Mike Sainristil 
Defensive Skill Player of the Year: Brad Hawkins, Daxton Hill, Vincent Gray, D.J. Turner
Specialist of the Year: Jake Moody
Most Improved Player (Offense): Cade McNamara, Luke Schoonmaker  
Michigan Most Improved Player (Defense): David Ojabo, D.J. Turner
Scout Team Player of the Year (Offense): Davis Warren
Scout Team Player of the Year (Defense): George Rooks
The Scout Team Player of the Year (Special Teams): Tyler McLaurin