Divine Child coach recalls what it was like coaching future Lions star Aidan Hutchinson

As Detroit prepares to host the NFL Draft April 25-27, high school coach remembers Hutchinson as 'funny, happy-go-lucky kid'

DEARBORN — Chris Laney remembers Aidan Hutchinson before he was big.

Big in the sense that Laney coached the future Detroit Lions star when he was just in high school, and big in the sense that Hutchinson didn’t yet possess his 6-foot-7, 269-pound frame when he was a freshman walking the halls at Divine Child High School in Dearborn.

While the world sees NFL megastar Aidan Hutchinson, the edge rusher who led a resurgent Lions to the NFC Championship game last season, Laney still sees a glimpse of the 14-year-old, fun-loving freshman beloved by his Falcon teammates.

“It’s pretty cool. To have at least one player in the NFL is pretty amazing, but to have him play for the hometown team, to say it is amazing would be an understatement,” Laney, who now serves as Divine Child's head football coach, told Detroit Catholic. “There is so much buzz around the community, being able to watch him and all the local games on TV and watch him play in person, it has been really surreal for us at Divine Child.”

Laney was the offensive coordinator for Divine Child during Hutchinson’s time on the varsity team (2015-17), calling plays for the Falcons on their road to the state semifinals during Aidan’s senior year, where Aidan played tight end and caught passes from quarterback Theo Day, who went on to play at Northern Iowa and is a potential late-round draft pick or undrafted free agent at the NFL Draft happening in downtown Detroit April 25-27.

But before Hutchinson became a household name, he was just another freshman — albeit a very tall freshman — making his way to class at Divine Child and then off to practice on the junior varsity football team.

“I don’t know if you would have looked at him and said, ‘Oh, this guy is going to play in the NFL,’ let alone be a first-round draft pick,” Laney said. “He was big, but still kind of skinny; he still hadn’t blossomed into his body at all. But we knew his dad (former University of Michigan standout Chris Hutchinson) was a really good football player, so he had a good pedigree. He worked hard to get to the level where he is at.”

Aidan eventually bulked up to fill out his 6-foot-2 high school frame, thanks to countless hours in the Divine Child weight room.

He took on a leadership role for the Falcons football team his junior year, calling on teammates to play up to their potential, Laney recalled.

“There was one game in particular, playing our opener away at Benton Harbor — it’s a long trip out there — and at some point late in the game, him and our quarterback, Theo Day, went to our the sideline and said, ‘That’s not us, we’re not going to (play that way) this year.’ That sticks out to me as a moment where it’s like, ‘OK, this is his team,'” Laney said.

For as fierce a competitor Hutchinson was on the football and lacrosse fields, Aidan was a typical, fun-loving Divine Child student who was involved in the community, kept up his grades and wanted to hang out with his friends, Laney said.

“He was a really funny, happy-go-luck kid at Divine Child, had a lot of friends, and treated everybody like he was a friend of theirs,” Laney said. “Obviously, he was the best player on our team, but he treated everybody like they were equal; he was a good leader in that way. He was a 4.0 (GPA) student at Divine Child, (and it’s) not an easy curriculum.”

Hutchinson was recruited by Michigan and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2022, coming full circle as a hometown hero whose football career had begun playing CYO football for Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth.

Laney said he was a bit concerned that Hutchinson's lofty draft status — he was selected second overall by the Lions that year — would come with extra pressure playing for his hometown team, from more media commitments to requests for tickets, autographs and appearances.

But it’s something Hutchinson, 23, has taken in stride, said Laney, who still receives text messages from Hutchinson every two or three months.

“Playing for your hometown team isn’t easy in terms of distractions — everyone wants an autograph, everyone wants a picture, a donation to this or that — and that can be a lot on him. Sometimes I think we forget how young he is,” Laney said. “He’s got a really good support system around him, good friends from high school, even kids he went to Good Counsel with, still good buddies with those guys.”

Hutchinson is still a topic of discussion around the Divine Child football program, his jersey hanging in the school’s trophy case and opposing teams who come for football and lacrosse games asking, “Did Hutch really go here?”

And Aidan still follows Divine Child football closely, even texting Laney after the Falcons lost to Carleton Airport in the district finals.

“We lost a game on Friday, and Monday out of the blue I got a text from him asking what happened," Laney said. "So he follows along from wherever he is. We talk a bit; I talk to his dad quite a bit and keep him affiliated, not only with Divine Child, but to maintain a friendship with him and his family."

Hutchinson’s commitment to Divine Child athletics after graduation shouldn’t come as a surprise. After committing to Michigan to play football, it was suggested he enroll early to get ready for spring football practices.

But that would have meant missing out on the spring semester at Divine Child, finishing high school with his friends, playing on the lacrosse team, and going to prom.

That wasn't in Hutchinson’s DNA, so he decided to stay at Divine Child.

“He put (college) on the backburner and finished out his lacrosse season. A lot of kids nowadays wouldn’t do that, but I loved that he did that,” Laney said. “And he still played as a freshman at Michigan. He didn’t have to be there for spring practice; he still had all that success and is now playing on Sundays. If you are good enough, they will find you.”

Beyond the football accolades, Laney wishes more people knew about Hutchinson's charitable work and philanthropy, such as with C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and Hutch’s Heroes, featured on his House of Hutch brand.

“What speaks volumes for Aidan and their family is their Catholic faith and how it is important to them and how they give back, not only to our school, but the work he does with Mott Children’s Hospital and with Hutch’s Heroes,” Laney said. “It speaks volumes for the family, just a great family. They are very charitable, very giving, very loving people, both Melissa and Chris, and Aidan is just an awesome young man.”

A poignant example of Hutchinson's commitment to the Divine Child community took place last year, when Owen Gibbons, a Divine Child student was hurt in a serious Fourth of July boating accident, suffering a spinal cord injury. Hutchinson dedicated the first game of the Lions' season against the Kansas City Chiefs to Owen, giving the young man a game-worn jersey and hooking the Gibbons family up with playoff tickets against the Los Angeles Rams.

“It’s stories like that, and I could tell you 20 other ones he does behind the scenes that not everybody sees,” Laney said. “What makes me most proud are moments like those, not him sacking a quarterback. It is him living his faith, being a servant-leader, all those things that Our Lady of Good Counsel and Divine Child instilled in him. That is what makes me most proud of him.”

Much has changed in Hutchinson’s life since his high school career at Divine Child.

As the NFL Draft gets under way in downtown Detroit, with a new generation of football stars ready to step into their own limelight, Hutchinson's image is plastered all over the city, the literal poster child of the Motor City's gritty determination and upward trajectory. But in many respects, Aidan is still Aidan, the happy-go-lucky Divine Child student who likes to go bowling with his friends, spend time with his family and help others when he can.

“I ran into one of his buddies on Saturday night; they still go bowling, and he and his high school friends are still down to earth, growing up in Plymouth, and still live out that way,” Laney said. “I don’t think that is ever going to change for him.”

Laney and his colleagues on the football staff joke that “at least we didn’t mess him up,” adding it was a blessing to coach Aidan as a player, but even better to know him as a man.

“Nowadays I’m watching as a fan, but whenever the Lions are on defense I find myself only watching him, not watching what else is going on,” Laney said. “I was calling offense back in (Hutchinson's Divine Child) days; he actually played tight end for us for his senior year. He is freakishly athletic and has great hands. Sometimes I wish I could call (Lions coach) Dan Campbell and tell him he could play a little offense this year.

"But I don’t think Coach Campbell needs my two cents," Laney said. "I watch him as a fan really; I don’t need to critique those guys.”