In a move that surprised exactly zero people, Notre Dame gained the verbal commitment of defensive tackle Donovan Hinish at the start of this past weekend on Friday. The 6’2″/275-pounder out of Pittsburgh, PA is the 14th player to join Notre Dame’s committed class of 2022 — a class currently ranked 4th in the nation behind only Georgia, Ohio State, and LSU.
The Legacy Continues… Love Thee ☘️ @NDFootball @CoachMikeElston @210ths @flem021 pic.twitter.com/Tkwz1CwvC5
— Donovan Hinish (@D_Hinish51) June 4, 2021
If the last name didn’t make this obvious enough, Donovan is the younger brother of current Irish defensive tackle Kurt Hinish. The two are largely considered to be pretty similar players, though some scouts are of the opinion that Donovan is the more tenacious defensive tackle of the two. Kurt’s drive and attitude has been a key in making him an important piece of the Notre Dame defensive line over the past couple of years. So if it’s true that Donovan is expected to be an even better player, sign me the heck up.
Recruiting Service Rankings
Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #33 DT, #15 in PA
ESPN — 3 star (79 rating), NR overall, #39 DT, #11 in PA
247Sports — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #70 DL, #14 in PA
247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8797), #465 overall, #71 DL, #14 in PA
Irish Sports Daily — 3 star (89 rating)
Cohort
Donovan chose the Irish over other offers from Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, UCF, Coastal Carolina, Toledo, Western Michigan, Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, and Kent State.
Highlights
His high school film looks very reminiscent of both Kurt’s high school film and that of another Notre Dame defensive linemen — Howard Cross. He doesn’t wow you with ridiculous size or elite athleticism — if anything, he’s a bit undersized at this point. But he does a lot of the little things very well. He’s very quick off the snap, which is so important at the college level. If you combine that with his high motor and the effort he puts into every snap, and you have a guy that is near guaranteed to have some kind of role in the defense in the future.
Impact
The depth chart along the defensive line right now is quite good. Notre Dame has a significantly more talented defensive now than when Kurt Hinish committed to Notre Dame back in 2016. With that in mind, expecting Donovan to be a three-year starter like his brother may be expecting too much. However, I do see him having the potential to be a rotational guy pretty early in his career (whenever he gets to where he needs to be physically) and a starter as an upperclassman.
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Welcome to the Irish family, Donovan!
As you noted, this was not a surprise. However, I was surprised that he did not commit earlier and was wondering if that was due to ND making him wait because they were going after higher ranked guys first. Was that the case and does this suggest that ND lost confidence in landing any of the top ranked d-linemen?
The top target at DT has always been Anthony Lucas, and I don’t think Notre Dame’s position with him has changed much. Still in a good spot, and he’ll be visiting this month, but it’ll be a battle against some of the recruting blue bloods of the country.
Obviously take this with a huge grain of salt, but Kurt Hinish talking about his brother:
“All the coaches, they are always joking around with me and talking about stuff like he’s better than I am. We’re about the same size, if not, he might be just an inch or two taller than I am, give or take. I think he’s about 275 right now. My dad’s got him in the gym working out, putting some weight on and he looks really good. One thing that my younger brother does a lot better than I do is that, just naturally, he’s a lot more athletic than I am laterally. He’s kind of a better all-around athlete than me. I kind of got the short end of the stick. It is what it is. The youngest gets it all. He’s gonna be a really good ballplayer wherever he chooses to go. I hope it’s here. But yeah, he’s doing really well. He’s gonna be a great player in the future.”