Top linebacking recruit Michael Hutchings committed to the USC Trojans on Saturday. He stars for Concord (Calif.) De La Salle High School. Hutchings stands 6'2 and 210 pounds, and he is a consensus four-star recruit and the sixth-rated linebacker nationally in a consensus of the four major recruiting services.
Michael Hutchings A Sure Thing At Linebacker For USC
He also claims offers from USC, UCLA, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Washington and Washington State
SB Nation’s Derrell Warren scouted Hutchings in May and found him to be an excellent prospect.
Hutchings is explosive on contact and plays with excellent leverage, making strong form tackles that surrender little, if any, yards after contact. Hutchings can be a bit tight hipped and often will have to take an elongated step in order to gather himself prior to redirecting in space or transitioning to flow laterally against outside runs. Once he is able to redistribute his momentum, however, he shows good speed in pursuit and takes great angles to the ball.As strictly a coverage linebacker, Hutchings gets good depth in his drops, reads patterns and can step in front of passes. Hutchings should be able cover tight ends one-on-one effectively at the collegiate level. However, he may have more difficulty attempting to stay with smaller shiftier backs running wheel, arrow, or button hook routes out of the backfield. As an edge rusher, Hutching shows good burst and closing speed. He is a generally a mismatch for any tailback assigned to block him one on one.
Due to his advanced football intelligence and instincts, Hutchings has a chance to play early for the Trojans.
Hutchings is USC’s 11th commitment of the 2013 cycle.
For more on Trojans football, visit USC blog Conquest Chronicles, plus Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes and SB Nation Los Angeles.
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