Allen Park — Green Bay Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary has a new nickname for his alma mater, the University of Michigan: Pass-Rush U.
The topic came up when discussing Detroit Lions rookie pass rusher — and fellow Michigan pass-rush fraternity member — Aidan Hutchinson. Ahead of their reunion Sunday at Ford Field, Gary recalled their relationship from when they were both in Ann Arbor.
“I don’t want to say, (I was a) ‘mentor.’ I feel like I was there, I was able to teach him certain things, help him feel comfortable with the system,” Gary said. “At the end of the day, he blossomed into who he became through himself and his hard work.”
Hutchinson, through his first seven games as a Lion, has 4.5 sacks to go along with 18 tackles, and Gary, although he’ll try to send Hutchinson home with a loss this weekend, couldn’t be more impressed.
“He’s been having a good season,” Gary said. “I haven’t seen him much because I’ve got to focus on what I do, but he popped up when I was watching Washington film. He popped up a lot in that game, got a couple sacks. He’s a Michigan guy doing great in the league so far. … It’s a brotherhood.”
Hutchinson and Gary only played together at Michigan for one season, in 2018, but Hutchinson said this week that Gary, who’s two years his senior, was an excellent role model for a young pass rusher coming up.
“Rashan is a dog, you know, so I mean, every day, watching him in practice and watching him do what he does, it was pretty cool,” Hutchinson said. “And he had all that hype, being a top draft pick, so to have a guy like that coming in, it was good.”
In the end, it all led to Hutchinson slightly outproducing Gary as Wolverines. In 34 games Gary had 119 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Hutchinson had 160 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and — perhaps most importantly — a win against Ohio State, over 36 appearances.
“He’s a dog, himself, man,” Gary said. “A little hot take: I feel like Michigan’s becoming the new Pass-Rusher U. A little hot take on that. Man, he’s a great guy, great competitor. You see it on tape. I’ve been watching him since college.”
After a slower start to his career — Gary had just 2.0 sacks his rookie season and 5.0 in 2020 — he has come into his own over the last two seasons as a full-time starter for the Packers. He had 9.5 sacks a season ago, and through eight games in 2022, he is tied for seventh in sacks (6.0), plus he has 11 quarterback hits, 29 total tackles and seven tackles for loss.
But, if you’re wondering which team has a better chance of stopping the “Michigan Man” opposite of them, well, the Lions will start behind the 8-ball on that. Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was a two-time First-team All-Big Ten offensive lineman for the Wolverines in 2004 and 2005.
“(He’s a) good player,” Stenavich said of Hutchinson. “High-motor guy that’s got really good twitch, good strength at the point of attack. He’s got some really good pass-rush moves, so it’s gonna be interesting to see how he progresses over the years and becomes one of the best — a good pass rusher in the league.”
Twitter: @nolanbianchi
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