Hutchinson Selected Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year Finalist
12/2/2021 1:00:00 PM | Football
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Walter Camp Football Foundation on Thursday (Dec. 2) named senior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson of the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan football team as one of five finalists for its 2021 Player of the Year award, the nation's fourth-oldest college football honor.
Hutchinson is joined by Georgia's Jordan Davis (DL), Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett (QB), Michigan State's Kenneth Walker (RB) and Alabama's Bryce Young (QB). The last defensive player to win the award was Notre Dame's Manti Te'o (2012); former Wolverine Charles Woodson (1997) is the only other defensive recipient.
A standout all season, the two-time team captain and Big Ten Woodson-Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year is Michigan's third-leading tackler with 54 stops (32 solo). He set a new program sack record with 13 and counting through 12 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 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 (93.8).
Jabrill Peppers (2016) was U-M's last finalist for the award, and Hutchinson is the fourth in program history. The only two U-M players to win it are Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997).
Voters for this honor include 130 FBS head coaches and SIDs. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 9, as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards show.
