CLEMSON — Usually when a young man begins to play sports, he envisions being the next big thing in whatever sport he prefers to play.

If he excels in basketball, he hopes to be the next Michael Jordan. If he can throw a fastball or has a good change up or curveball, then maybe he is the next coming of Cy Young.

If he plays football, he usually wants to be the next Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Jim Brown or Walter Payton.

Very rarely do you hear a kid at any age say he wants to be the next Wright Bazemore – the legendary football coach at Valdosta High School (Ga.) who won countless national and state championships during a career that saw him post a 268-51-7 record.

But Bobby Hutchinson was never like most kids. The current Clemson offensive linemen says he has always wanted to be a football coach – preferably at the high school level – since he was 11 years old.

“That is something that I have always wanted to do ever since I started playing the game,” he said earlier this week. “I don’t see myself as the flashy type that sits in the office everyday wearing a suit. I see myself outside in the sun working. That’s how I see myself.

“It’s something I have always pictured myself doing when my playing career was done.”

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound senior said his desire to coach goes back to his pee wee football days in Greenville, Fla. It was during that time, a coach by the name of Mike Blue was the first one to leave an impression.

“Starting with pee wee up to middle school and up to the high school, the things I have learned from them and the things they had taught me over time made me feel like, ‘Hey, I want to do the same thing to some of the kids now that are growing up and playing ball,’” he said.

Frankie Carroll and his staff at Madison County High School (Fla.) were the next group that inspired Hutchinson to not only coach, but to maybe one day to it at the high school level. One coach in particular on that staff that perhaps played the biggest role was his position coach and now good friend Mike Coe. Hutchinson played under Coe his senior year as he earned All-Region, All-State and All-Star status.

“I played for him just one year, but there is just something about him. I still talk to him now. Just about every day I talk to him,” Hutchinson said. “There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t.

“It’s just the way he cares for his players off the field. You don’t see that a lot. A lot of places you go to you see coaches that care about winning that next game, but the fact he cares more about what you are doing off the field with your time is what makes him special.”

Coe is almost like a father figure to Hutchinson. He always made sure he was doing his homework, not getting in any trouble and attending church on a regular basis.

“That’s what I enjoy, and that’s what I respect about him and that’s what I aspire to do for younger kids,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson actually began his coaching career a little earlier than expected when he was approached by offensive line coach Brad Scott and head coach Tommy Bowden about being a player-coach this summer. Hutchinson had fallen down the depth chart and wasn’t expected to make a push for much playing time, so knowing the knowledge that he has for the game, his attention to detail and his desire to one day coach himself, Scott offered him the opportunity to help with the younger players and work with the scout team.

Hutchinson was fine with his new role on the Clemson team. He said he was learning a lot during fall camp and was seeing a different side to the game he always envisioned, but did not truly know until trading the pads for a whistle.

“Coach Scott has been in the business a long time, and I feel that is helping me understand more of the game and that helps me bring more to the table,” he said.

Hutchinson’s coaching career, however, was put on hold for a couple of months after then-starting right guard Barry Humphries suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of the Alabama game. The next week, Hutchinson was back in pads and was working as the second-team center after backup Mason Cloy was moved to start for Humphries. When the injury bug hit the left guard spot the next week, Hutchinson moved over and then earned his first-career start in the Maryland game after regular starter David Smith suffered a severe ankle injury against S.C. State.

“We are so happy that he did come back because he can play center and either guard position, and he knows what he is doing up there,” Bowden said.

Hutchinson helped pave the way for a 221-yard game for the Clemson rushing attack, in what Scott said was the best performance by his young offensive line this season.

“He is a guy that knows and understands our offense,” Scott said. “He knows all the calls. He is a very smart kid that can play center and both guards. That part of it gives me confidence to know I have a guy in there that isn’t going to have very many missed assignments.”

With tackle Cory Lambert moving inside this week to help out with guard now that a few of the other linemen are starting to get healthy again, Hutchinson has moved back to center where he is listed as Thomas Austin’s backup for Thursday night’s game at No. 25 Wake Forest.

And though his moment in the spotlight seems to be diminishing somewhat, his career as a coach is just beginning.

“I love football so much, but you can only play it for so long. I want to be around football. I feel that my best opportunity, if I am not playing, is to be able to coach,” Hutchinson said.