HOUSTON, Texas — Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson of the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan football team was named on Wednesday as the recipient of the 2021 Rotary Lombardi Trophy. The honor is bestowed upon the best lineman (offensive or defensive) in college football by the Rotary Club of Houston.
Hutchinson, a senior from Plymouth, Michigan, was U-M’s ninth finalist for the honor since it was first awarded in 1979. He also joins LaMarr Woodley (2006) as the winning Wolverines in the history of the award.
A native of Plymouth, Michigan, Hutchinson is a two-time defensive captain and the tone-setter for the Michigan defense, which lists top-15 in four major categories including scoring defense (fourth). He has been named the Woodson-Nagurski Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as well as the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year during his stellar 2021 season.
Hutchinson has totaled 58 stops (33 solo). He set a new program sack record with 14.0 and counting through 13 games, a figure that ranks third nationally. Hutchinson had three sacks against Ohio State in the U-M win, more than the Buckeyes had allowed to a full team this season, and his 15 quarterback hurries in that game as measured by Pro Football Focus College (PFFCollege) are the most in a single game since the stat has been measured. The service grades Hutchinson as the No. 1 player in the country on defense and his pass-rush grade against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game was the highest of his career.
Off the field, Hutchinson is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten honoree studying applied exercise science.
Hutchinson is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award, the Rotary Lombardi Award, the Senior CLASS Award, and the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy.
