Catching Up with the Hutchinsons: Michigan's First Father-Son Football All-Americans
Chris comments on their accomplishment, Aidan's agent having a Wolverine connection, training in California and son's thoughts on Detroit Lions possibility
Photos Courtesy of Melissa Hutchinson
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The black and white photos of Michigan’s football All-Americans wearing letter sweaters line the walkway players take from the locker room to the second-floor meeting rooms and cafeteria at Schembechler Hall. Chris Hutchinson’s framed photo went up 30 years ago, and son Aidan’s will now be there, too.
They are the first father and son to play for the Wolverines and earn All-America status in 142 years of play.
“With the length of history and the success that Michigan has had it’s surprising no one else has gotten it to this point,” Chris told me. “And, you know, honestly, until last year, I wouldn’t have even thought this was possible until I saw Aidan’s development and he stayed. And the team had to have success, too, because there aren’t a lot of All-Americans on (subpar) teams.
“But when Aidan started having these games with his impact, I thought, ‘This very well may happen.’ I didn’t put it together that we would be the first, though. I was a consensus All-American pick, but Aidan was unanimous. He took it a step up. Everybody who walks through Schembechler Hall and sees those photos. When you are a freshman, it’s, ‘I want to be in there one day.’ Now that there are two related Hutchinsons up on that wall…”
Chris laughed because many fans and even some former players assume that Wolverine offensive guard Steve Hutchinson – a two-time All-American and captain in 1999 and 2000 and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – is related to Chris and Aidan.
“But being up there with Aidan is so special because it is forever,” continued Chris. “We’re forever going to be a part of Schembechler Hall, and every freshman who walks in there is going to see the old-school dad and the new-school son. To have permanence like that, that’s really when you start talking about your legacy. It just adds this concreteness to it.”
They were the second father-son football captains at Michigan, joining guard Robert L. Brown (1925) and end Robert M. Brown (1962).
The school prides itself on being “leaders and best,” and the Hutchinsons exemplify that mantra as well as any who have worn the maize and blue winged helmets.
Aidan wore No. 97 at Michigan to honor his father, who delivered him in the hospital and has accomplished so much -- particularly recently in treating COVID-19 patients as an emergency room physician. Chris, undersized for the NFL and playing with a bad back, decided to walk away from the Cleveland Browns as a rookie free agent in 1992. He had a meeting with the head coach and defensive coordinator to inform them that he was leaving to attend medical school at Michigan.
You might have heard of the two he told: head coach Bill Belichick and coordinator Nick Saban.
Aidan is being projected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and if they somehow pass on him, the hometown Detroit Lions would snap him up in an instant.
His NFL career is being greatly anticipated.
Chris said Aidan is living near Los Angeles and training at the Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks until the NFL Scouting Combine begins March 1 in Indianapolis, and will return to Ann Arbor after that for Michigan’s pro scouting day March 17. Then Aidan will begin visiting individual teams with an interest in hosting him at their facilities.
The Sports Academy had been the Mamba Sports Academy until the reference to Kobe Bryant’s “Black Mamba” nickname was dropped four months after his death along with daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, 2020.
Chris said NFL teams are not allowed to speak with Aidan at this point, but said the Lions, Jaguars and Houston Texans (drafting third overall) have spoken with his contract agent – Mike McCartney of Priority Sports. He’s the son of former Dearborn (Mich.) Divine Child High and Colorado head coach Bill McCartney, who was Bo Schembechler’s defensive coordinator at Michigan.
Mike was the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator for his father at Colorado, 1987-89, and also served as an NFL scout and executive. His clients have included elite quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Kirk Cousins, who played at Michigan State.
Chris said Ryan Henderson of Radegen Sports Management is Aidan’s marketing agent, and is talking with Nike and other corporations in regard to marketing deals.
“Aidan would love to be the first pick,” said Chris. “Would he love to be a Lion? Absolutely.”
Aidan texted me: “If you were the guy who grew up in Michigan and was partially responsible for the Lions coming back into prominence and winning – well, not even winning the Super Bowl but playoff games or going to the playoffs – that would be pretty darn special.”
Chris added, “And being in Michigan would be awesome, but (Aidan) focused on the fact that being a part of the culture that would bring this team back would be awesome.”
Aidan was central to the Wolverines coming back from a COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 2-4 record to go 12-2 and win the Big Ten championship. He also helped Dearborn Divine Child overcome a losing season to return to its winning ways.
“That would be his greatest legacy,” said Chris, “doing that three times in a row.”
The Hutchinson story Michigan fans have loved experiencing has only just begun.
How did Aidan get so much bigger than Chris?