U-M's Aidan Hutchinson calls Michigan State "poison for the soul"
Michigan star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has been getting a lot of attention recently, deservingly so, after leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship.
Hutchinson is a finalist for several national awards, including the Heisman Trophy, and has already been honored with the Lombardi Trophy, given to the nation's top offensive or defensive lineman.
But on Tuesday, while making an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Hutchinson recanted a visit to East Lansing while still a high school prospect.
Needless to say, he didn't give a good review of Spartan football.
“Unfortunately, I visited Ohio State and Michigan State and – it hurt my soul a little bit to do that. I can say that no, in hindsight," Hutchinson said.
“When I visited Michigan State, I came back and I got so sick. I lost like 20 pounds in the summer, because of that visit. That just goes to show that Michigan State is just poison for the soul.”
Eisen, who is of course a Michigan alum, jumped at the opportunity to take his own shot at Michigan State.
“You know what Aidan, it’s your body rejecting that," Eisen said. "It’s what it was. Your body rejected it. You didn’t reject the school, your body rejected the concept and the notion [of going to Michigan State].”
When the Spartans and Wolverines met on the field on Oct. 30, Michigan blew a 30-14 lead as Michigan State would eventually go on to win, 37-33.
After ribbing MSU about Hutchinson's visit, Eisen then brought up the controversial overturning of the fumble-touchdown, that would have given Michigan a 27-14 lead going into halftime.
Upon review, Spartan quarterback Payton Thorne was ruled down prior to fumbling, and the touchdown -- recovered and scored by Hutchinson -- was taken off the scoreboard.
“The whole game was just, I mean, it seemed like we couldn’t get a call," Hutchinson said. "And then we had this series of events that was just so unfortunate and we ended up taking a loss – a very, very tough loss.”
One of those "series of events" was Michigan State tailback Kenneth Walker III running wild for 197 yards on 23 carries with 5 rushing touchdowns on the Wolverine defense, but that didn't come up in the conversation between Eisen and Hutchinson.
However, the senior defensive end did acknowledge that Michigan State victory on that Saturday afternoon played a part in the Wolverines winning the Big Ten title.
“Just looking back at it, I think if we hadn’t lost that game, I don’t know that I’d be here today – a Big Ten champion," Hutchinson said. "Because, having a loss like that – we’re up 30-14, we should have won the game, but we lost that game ourselves.
“It’s something that, I think, motivated our guys so much and we realized that if we lose another game, we don’t have a chance. We’re going to be out of the playoffs, we’re going to be out of the Big Ten championship. I think that was an eye-opener and a reality-check for our team. I think it’s something that really pushed us to take that next level.”
Hutchinson's time in this rivalry is over. The defensive end will certainly be a first round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, and is even being discussed for the No. 1 overall pick.
Hutchinson went 2-2 in the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, with those losses coming in each of the last two seasons. The Spartans and Wolverines will renew their rivalry on Oct. 22, 2022.
