Coaching chaos behind him, Notre Dame’s Donovan Hinish is ready to go
Growing up a roughneck Pittsburgh kid in a no-nonsense blue-collar household — alongside older brothers who had no problem setting him straight — Notre Dame class of 2022 defensive tackle recruit Donovan Hinish doesn’t often get rattled, on or off the football field.
But when rumors starting swirling in January that longtime Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston was leaving Notre Dame, Hinish admits to being knocked off center.
“I was pretty upset,” recalled Hinish, an incoming Irish freshman defensive tackle from Pittsburgh Central Catholic, whose older brother, Kurt Hinish, spent five seasons (2017-21) playing defensive tackle under Elston at Notre Dame. “I became pretty close with Coach Elston, obviously, through my recruiting process, and even years before that.”
Curious and concerned, Donovan wasted no time getting to the bottom of the Elston departure chatter and called the coach who recruited him to Notre Dame, spent time over the last several years with his family, recruited and developed his brother, and was expected to lead his position group in the fall.
“Coach Elston said, ‘Yeah, it’s true,’” Hinish shared. “We just talked for awhile. It was super upsetting.”
The coaching chaos calmed when first-year Irish head coach Marcus Freeman filled Elston’s vacancy with esteemed Ohio State defensive assistant Al Washington.
“I knew that Coach Freeman would end up finding somebody who would fit in well,” Hinish said. “I’m all set.”
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Hinish will arrive on campus in June as one of three defensive linemen in this recruiting class, and with the inevitable comparisons to his older brother, who because of an extra season of eligibility provided by COVID-19, appeared in a program-record 61 games during his five-year Notre Dame career.
At 6-foot-2 and 268 pounds, Donovan is almost identical in size to Kurt from when his older brother also came to Notre Dame as a freshman out of Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
The two brothers look and act the same — neither is much interested in chit-chat or small talk. Both play the defensive tackle position with a bad attitude and a bullish style. Shortcuts aren’t part of the daily to-do list. Challenges are viewed as opportunity, not as hindrance, and both are chronic overachievers.
And while Kurt held a more impressive offer sheet during his high school recruitment — Donovan’s was predominantly made up of Mid-American Conference schools — big brother still makes one admission.
“He’s a better all-around athlete than me, the younger ones always are,” Kurt said of little brother. “He’s going to become a great player.”
