Michael Hutchings - Football Coach - Western Kentucky University Athletics

Michael Hutchings

Title:
Assistant Coach - Outside Linebackers
Email:
michael.hutchings@wku.edu

Michael Hutchings joined the WKU Football staff as outside linebackers coach in the spring 2022 semester.

A former team captain and Rose Bowl champion as a player at USC, Hutchings comes to The Hill following previous stints as a defensive analyst at Oregon and USC.

Hutchings helped lead a dramatic improvement in USC’s defense from 2019 to 2020, with total yards allowed per game dropping from 408.7 to 369.7 and passing yards allowed per game falling from 246.2 to 216.3. The Trojans had 16 forced turnovers in the shortened six-game 2020 season after getting 16 in 13 games in 2019.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga was a consensus All-American first teamer and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and defensive lineman Marlon Tuipulotu made All-Pac-12 first team in 2020.

Before that, Hutchings served as a graduate assistant at USC from 2018-19 working with linebackers. In 2019, inside linebacker John Houston Jr. led the Trojans in tackles with 104, while in 2018 inside linebacker Cameron Smith became the first USC player in nearly 40 years to lead the team in tackles in three consecutive years.

Hutchings played four seasons at inside linebacker for USC from 2013-16, making 15 starts among his 52 games played. He recorded 118 tackles, including eight for loss (with three sacks), two deflections and one interception in his career.

He was a captain in 2016 on USC’s Rose Bowl champion team when he also made All-Pac-12 honorable mention and won the team’s Chris Carlisle Courage Award.

Hutchings received his bachelor’s degree in communication from USC in 2017 and a master’s degree in communication management.

The Concord, Calif., native was a prep All-American as a 2012 senior at De La Salle High School.