Aidan Hutchinson hails from Michigan and grew up in Metro Detroit, so if there was a player who felt destined to join the Detroit Lions from the beginning, it was him.
Hutchinson doesn’t have to move far at all to join his NFL team, and just has to travel down I-94 about 30 minutes to find his new home. Naturally, that’s something that leaves him very fired up for the future with his new team and a new band of brothers in the Motor City.
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From the moment he was picked and forward, Hutchinson couldn’t stop beaming, and when it came time to speak, he shared some of that major passion with the Lions and his new fanbase. Hutchinson went on camera and shared some early excitement with fans.
Our guy @aidanhutch97 is ready to Defend the Den! #OnePride
“What’s going on guys? Aidan Hutchinson here. Man I am so excited to get started with the Lions. I am fired up. We go the best fanbase in the world and I’m excited to get going,” Hutchinson said.
Detroit’s pick not only reunited a hungry fanbase with an elite player, but a hungry player with his hometown. For this reason, the move could prove great.
Hutchinson Wanted Lions ‘All Along’ During Draft
For players, the NFL draft process can be long and winding. Hutchinson took plenty of visits and plenty of rumors swirled about where he may go. As Hutchinson said, from the start, he wanted to stick in Michigan and go to Detroit. It was a feeling he had since the start of the process. Speaking with the media including Chris Burke of The Athletic, Hutchinson admitted to wanting to land with the Lions all along in the process.
Hutchinson: “It was the Lions all the way. The whole draft process, I wanted them to pick me.”
“Aidan Hutchinson: “It feels great. It feels great to be home, once again. … Just to have the opportunity to play at home in front of a lot of the same fans, I’m so grateful and I can’t tell you how excited I am. “It was the Lions all the way. The whole draft process, I wanted them to pick me,” Hutchinson told the media as Burke tweeted.
It’s clearly a match made in football heaven for Hutchinson and the Lions.
Hutchinson’s College Stats & Highlights
In terms of Hutchinson, several Lions fans will also likely know what he is capable of given his career at Michigan, and the defensive end has put up some solid numbers in school already. Coming into this season, Hutchinson collected 94 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. Here’s some of his work from the past:
This year, his work has been even better. Hutchinson has put together a stellar regular season with 14 sacks, 58 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. He’s looked like one of the best defenders in college football throughout the second half of the season and has been a problem for whatever teams have lined up against him thus far.
The Lions wanted Hutchinson badly, and as it turns out, Hutchinson wanted the Lions just as much. It will be fun to see what this pairing looks like in 2022 on the field.
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‘Fired up’ Aidan Hutchinson Sends First Message to Lions Fans [WATCH]