2021 Michigan vs. Washington Awards

2021 Michigan vs. Washington Awards


September 13, 2021
Aidan Hutchinson (image via Yahoo)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . a wide receiver catching the ball. Michigan completed just 3 passes to wide receivers on Saturday night, and just 7 in total. Washington has a formidable defense, but wide receivers are going to get frustrated pretty quickly if they don’t start getting the ball once in a while to show off their skills. Cornelius Johnson (1 catch, 33 yards), A.J. Henning (1 catch, 1 yard), and Mike Sainristil (1 catch, -1 yard) got the ball, which means Roman Wilson and Daylen Baldwin didn’t.

Hit the jump for more.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . receivers who won’t block. Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and Luke Schoonmaker all made pretty poor attempts to block. Not only did they whiff, but they just didn’t look like they wanted to do a good job. Don’t throw them the ball if they’re not willing to block for their teammates.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . nobody. I think the rotation is going pretty well on defense.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . defensive linemen bumping into each other. When Washington got some momentum in the second half, they started going up-tempo. And in an effort to keep guys fresh, Michigan was rotating in a lot of people, mostly on the defensive line. It started to look pretty sloppy, including one particular player where two defensive linemen were standing up and bumping into each other when the ball was snapped. If it had been a run play instead of a pass play, they would have been blown off the ball. Hopefully Michigan can improve its communication to players who are hustling in and out.

Play of the game . . . one of Aidan Hutchinson’s sacks. Hutchinson was often lined up over potential first round pick Jaxson Kirkland, Washington’s left tackle. Kirkland does not look like a first rounder to me, but regardless, Hutchinson bull rushed Kirkland, swatted him to the side, and then roll tackled quarterback Dylan Morris for a sack.

Player of the game . . . Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson finished with 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 1 quarterback hurry. Those are good stats, if not excellent, but he meant more than that to the defense – and to Washington’s offense. Washington couldn’t block him early in the game, which no doubt affected their play calling, not to mention their confidence in themselves. It seemed like Michigan’s defense sucked the life out of Washington, and Hutchinson was the point of the spear.

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