6A — Thursday, September 27, 2018 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Aidan Hutchinson hype train gaining steam Get anyone in the Michigan football program going on freshman defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and it soon becomes clear how high they are on him. Ask fifth-year senior defensive lineman Lawrence Marshall. “Oh my god, Aidan, from the first day until now, making a huge jump. That kid will be an All-American here.” Ask junior defensive end Rashan Gary, a potential future top-10 NFL draft pick: “I tell him all the time, my freshman year, he’s ahead of where I was.” Ask his position coach, Greg Mattison: “All I know is when Aidan was recruited, and watching Aidan play in high school and watching him in camp and watching him in games, his future is very, very bright.” Four games into Hutchinson’s Michigan career, the hype is deafening. Hutchinson — barely 18 years old — has publicly tempered expectations, saying, “that’s cool, but I have a lot to work on” when asked about Marshall’s All-American prediction. But his performance thus far speaks for itself. Despite playing behind Gary and fifth-year senior Chase Winovich, Hutchinson has seen action in all four games this season. Against Western Michigan, the freshman notched six tackles. Late in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Nebraska, Hutchinson diagnosed a screen pass from Cornhuskers quarterback Adrian Martinez and batted the attempt back in the air. Martinez caught his own attempt in the Nebraska end zone, but Hutchinson knocked him down, forcing Martinez into an intentional grounding penalty out of desperation, resulting in a safety. It was a glimpse of the athleticism, intelligence and relentlessness that, by all accounts, Hutchinson has been showing in practice all year. “He’s strong, he goes hard, he’s smart. Like he really understands football,” Marshall said Tuesday. “Like a lot of freshmen, when they come in, they really don’t understand the adjustments from high school to college. He really understands football.” That would make sense, given his family pedigree. Hutchinson’s father, Chris, played at Michigan from 1988- 1992, earning All-Big Ten honors his final two seasons and an All-American selection his senior season. Chris totaled 11 sacks in 1992 and finished his career with 20, then the second-highest total in school history. Mattison coached the Wolverines’ defensive line in 1992, and says “(Chris) may be the best I’ve had the opportunity to coach.” “Obviously him being an All-American here, obviously I know there’s a high standard for me,” Aidan said Tuesday. “I think, but I set my own expectation for myself, and I set the bar for myself.” For the time being, his snap count will be limited by the presence of Gary and Winovich — two potential All-Big Ten ends who rarely take a play off, barring injury. Hutchinson has gained valuable in-game experience in the last three weeks, games Michigan has won by a total of 127 points. Far from a hindrance, Mattison sees Gary’s presence in particular as valuable to Hutchinson’s growth. Mattison often sees Gary offering Hutchinson assistance in meetings and film sessions, which reminds the veteran coach of another player-to- player relationship. “I can still remember (former defensive end) Chris Wormley sitting right next to Rashan, helping him every day with all of the things we were trying to do, and (Gary) listening, and him learning it, and doing better each day that way,” Mattison said. “Rashan is doing the exact same thing with Aidan.” Hutchinson will almost certainly step into a more prominent role next season, with Winovich graduating and Gary likely headed to the NFL. He will occupy the same spot, in the same uniform, under the same coach that his father did during his All-America season. If the first portion of his freshman season is any indication — and if Marshall’s words turn into reality — Hutchinson could quickly shed the title of “Chris’ son.” Mattison certainly thinks he’s on his way, even flashing some of the same skills that made Chris successful. “Aidan has a lot of that in him,” Mattison said. “The good thing is Aidan has six more inches.” Aidan Hutchinson has generated plenty of hype in his first few months on campus. But if what Mattison said is the case, not a word of it is hyperbole. Moore earns praise in first year as tight ends coach Jim Harbaugh, like any coach, loves to compliment his players. So when the Michigan football coach was asked Monday, at his weekly press conference, about the development of redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry, it was no surprise that Harbaugh had a lot to say about all of his tight ends — Gentry, along with juniors Sean McKeon and Nick Eubanks. He even gave a shoutout to former Wolverine Jake Butt, now a tight end with the NFL’s Denver Broncos. And then at the end of his response, Harbaugh quickly added a compliment to first- year tight ends coach Sherrone Moore. “It’s just really good, good — tight ends, Sherrone Moore’s doing a heck of a job coaching this (group),” Harbaugh said. “… So proud of that.” It’s a small gesture, but it still meant something to Moore, who joined the staff this offseason by way of Central Michigan. Does he get that praise often? “From my wife,” Moore said Wednesday. “My mom, she’ll give me that sometimes. My wife actually told me about (Harbaugh’s comments), which was pretty cool. So, you know, I’m just blessed to be here and do whatever I can to make this team better and make this program better.” Moore was dealt a strong hand when he arrived in Ann Arbor. Not only does he have Gentry, McKeon and Eubanks, but Michigan also landed the No. 6 tight-end recruit in the 2018 recruiting class, Mustapha Muhammad. And with Harbaugh’s fondness for two and three- tight end sets, Moore is experiencing a wealth of riches he hasn’t enjoyed before. “Last year at Central, we were more of a spread operation, so really only in one-tight end sets a majority of the game. Sometimes two,” Moore said. “But, you know, here, as you guys see, we’re in three- tight end sets, we’re early in the game three-tight end sets. Then I’ve got all three of them yelling at us, ‘Don’t take us off the field, ‘cause you saw us score.’ And I’m like, ‘Guys, chill out.’ “But, you know, it’s really cool to be a part of a program that does that and to be a part of that. And when you have weapons like that, it’s good to use them like that.” Last season, Gentry (303) and McKeon (301) had the second and third- most receiving yards on the team, and they had the most receiving touchdowns as well — two and three, respectively. Those aren’t staggering numbers, but on a team that struggled to pass the ball, the tight ends were often the safety valve. That dimension was already in their repertoire. This season, they’re contributing in the run game, too. That aspect was a major knock against the tight ends last season, but the improvement is something Moore has noticed firsthand. “Their strength from the spring to now the gains that they get, you know, I hold the bag sometimes for them and feel a little bit of a different thump when they hit it,” Moore said. “So that was a pretty cool feeling, to feel the difference of their strength there. But to watch those guys really improve from a fundamental standpoint with their hands and their feet has been really cool and really has come to fruition on gameday.” Moore is quick to deflect praise. He credits strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert for the tight ends’ improvement in blocking. He lauds wide receivers coach Jim McElwain for passing on some knowledge to him. And he credits the talents of his players for the rest. But there is no doubt that Moore is doing something right. If he weren’t, his praise would still just be coming from his wife and his mom. Teske preparing for bigger role with ‘M’ Last March, Jon Teske sat with a towel draped over his neck and a long sleeve warm- up masking his mostly dry jersey. Twenty feet away, Moritz Wagner terrorized the Loyola-Chicago defense as he hit a turnaround three, found Charles Matthews with a backdoor bounce pass and charged into the paint for a 3-point play, before capping the stretch with a three from the top of the key. In four minutes, he took Michigan from a three-point deficit to the precipice of the national championship game. “Not too many people in the country have the same skillset as Moe,” Matthews said Tuesday afternoon. It’s a stretch that exemplifies what Wagner meant to the Wolverines. On an offense whose identity was being able to shoot from all five positions, the 6-foot-11 center paced the team with a 39.4 3-point shooting percentage and 14.6 points per game. With Wagner now gone to the NBA, Teske, who played just three minutes in that game in San Antonio, moves to center stage. But he’s not Moe Wagner, and there’s no hiding that. Wagner pierced the net 110 times from beyond the arc over the past three years. At 7-foot-1, Teske is an elite rim protector who adds another dimension to Michigan’s dominant defense but has never made a collegiate three. His most recent attempt came in the dying minutes of a 45-point game against UC Riverside last November. “He’s one of a kind,” Matthews said of Wagner. “So yeah, we’re definitely gonna have to play differently.” Had Wagner returned for his senior year, this would be a Michigan team with few question marks. It would carry its offensive identity from last season, with sophomore guard Jordan Poole slotting in for the graduated Muhammad- Ali Abdur-Rahkman. The biggest change would be freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis providing a different type of spark off the bench than sharpshooting forward Duncan Robinson. In the turbulent landscape of college basketball, that would make the Wolverines one of the nation’s steadiest presences from a season ago. But, as expected, Wagner declared for the draft and will be playing alongside LeBron James in Los Angeles next month. In his stead, Teske’s development will be key to whether Michigan’s offense can match a defense that ranked third in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency metric last season. “Big Sleep has been doing very well in practice,” Matthews said, using Teske’s nickname. “And I think he’ll continue to grow.” The most surprising development for Teske may come from beyond the 3-point line. Though he’s only attempted two 3-pointers in his college career, he regularly shot two or three a game in high school. “Jon Teske has shot the ball really well (in practice),” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “Having a big man that can shoot, you all see what can happen, it made everybody else better last year. Having Jon be able to do that, … (that’s) big to get those big men that can shoot.” Added Teske: “That (3-point shooting) is one thing that (Beilein) has seen me grow with. I’ve been showing him that I’m capable of shooting a three.” It’s a different type of 3-point shooting than Wagner, who could shoot in nearly any situation. Teske anticipates that his looks from deep will come as a trailer in transition or off of pick-and-pops. But after losing their top three long ball shooters, the Wolverines will take all the help Teske can give them. Knowing that Wagner was likely leaving, Teske spent the last year studying him and learning his craft. They roomed together on road trips, allowing Teske to learn from him at every opportunity. Even now, with Wagner on the other side of the country, the two keep in regular communication by texting. “I was just picking his brain here and there and he’s just a great guy,” Teske said. “… He’s always somebody that I look to, kind of like a big brother to me.” Added Beilein: “Let’s face it, we lost our three top shooters. That’s a lot of threes in those three and high- percentage guys. So we have to replace that somehow.” Believe it or not, Teske might be crucial to Michigan’s chances of doing that. “Now that Moe’s gone, it’s my turn to step up,” Teske said. “And I think with my capability shooting the three, I can really stretch the floor and help us win games.” EVAN AARON/Daily Junior center Jon Teske is looking to replace Moe Wagner at the 3-point line. “(Teske) has been doing very well in practice.” “Now that Moe’s gone, it’s my turn to step up.” THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Writer ALEC COHEN/Daily Freshman defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has seen game action in all four of Michigan’s matchups so far this season. MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor ALEC COHEN/Daily Redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry had the second-most receiving yards of any Michigan player last season with 303. MIKE PERSAK Managing Sports Editor “... Moore’s doing a heck of a job coaching this (group).” “... Here, as you guys see, we’re in three-tight end sets...” After four years at Central Michigan, Sherrone Moore joined Michigan’s staff.