University of Nevada Las Vegas

UNLV: A big, talented lineman in the middle who is an honors candidate as a senior this fall … Listed No. 1 at one defensive tackle spot … Named preseason First Team All-MW by Lindy's and Phil Steele's and second team by Athlon … Enters final season with a team-high nine career tackles-for-loss … One of four local signees in the 2014 class … A top student-athlete who is highly decorated for his work in the classroom … Joined QB Blake Decker in being voted to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team in November, marking the first time the program had two such honorees in the same season … Also a member of the spring 2015 UNLV Dean's Honor List and one of nine Rebels who were members of the 2015 Academic All-MW Team … Selected to represent his team's defense at the MW annual media summit in July.

2016: Earned Honorable Mention All-MW … Started every game at tackle and turned in a career-high 37 total tackles and his first two quarterback sacks … Posted a career-high seven takedowns in the season finale vs. UNR on Nov. 26.

2015: Started all 12 games at DT … Finished with 23 total tackles, including tying for third on the team with 3.5 TFL … Forced two fumbles and recovered another … Also added one pass breakup … Had a career-high five tackles playing at the Big House against Michigan in Game Three.

2014: Earned his first letter as a Rebel by playing in seven games along the defensive line … Had his redshirt lifted when he played against San Diego State on Sept. 27 … Finished with 18 total tackles on the year, including two for loss.

HIGH SCHOOL: A 2014 graduate of Palo Verde HS … A four-year letterwinner under coach Darwin Rost … Played on both sides of the ball as a prepster and was a consensus three-star prospect … Ranked the No. 54 DT recruit in the nation by 247Sports and the No. 4 recruit overall from the Silver State … ESPN ranked him as the No. 72 DT in the country while Scout listed him as the No. 151 DL in the country … Earned all-state first team honors from Silver State Prep and all-state second team honors from Rivals as a senior on the defensive line … Also was a first team all-league selection as a junior and a senior on both the offensive and defensive lines … Played DT, DE, TE and OT in high school … Helped the Panthers to a 10-2 overall record, a league championship and an appearance in the state semifinals as a senior … Recorded 61 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and one blocked field goal … Helped PVHS finish 11-1 as a sophomore with a league championship and a playoff appearance.

PERSONAL: Michael Gerald Hughes Jr. was born in Los Angeles, CA … The son of Michael and Stephany Johnson … Has two younger brothers, Christopher and Nicholas Johnson, and one younger sister, Tsahi Hughes … Majoring in criminal justice.