Listed measurements: 6-foot-1 ⅝, 280 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Hinish has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Hinish should fall short of the two-deep regardless of which defensive tackle position he spends the preseason at, be it three-technique or nose.
Recruiting: The universal pandemic eligibility waiver should not show up in many profiles of current sophomores, but it warrants mention here simply because it was why Hinish’s older brother, Kurt, was still at Notre Dame up until months before Donovan enrolled. The Irish have had a Hinish in No. 41 along the defensive line at every practice since 2017.
A consensus three-star prospect and the No. 41 defensive tackle in the class, per rivals.com, Donovan’s recruiting profile was remarkably similar to Kurt’s, despite being a bit shorter than his older brother. Kurt was also a three-star prospect, but he was the No. 38 defensive tackle in the class of 2017.
The older brother had 17 scholarship offers from Power Five programs, compared to only three for the younger brother, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech joining the Irish. It could be rather easily argued Donovan’s scholarship offers were diminished by schools so strongly and correctly assuming he would head to South Bend.
CAREER TO DATE
Hinish saw action in just one game in 2022, the blowout against Boston College in the snow.
NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS
Rarely does this scribe acknowledge someone else in the world might be a better uncle than him, particularly days before he takes two nieces and two nephews camping for a week, but Donovan Hinish might have us all beat.
Field storming starts at a young age in the Hinish household. Solid uncle moment for Donovan Hinish. pic.twitter.com/5IZdnmcPVM
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) November 8, 2022
QUOTES
There may be no better quote about Hinish in his entire career than the one his older brother offered before the younger Hinish even arrived on campus.
“All the coaches out there are always joking around with me and talking about stuff that he’s better at than I am,” Kurt said in April of 2021 while his brother was still simply a recruit, though Irish coaches would later say such things publicly. “... The one thing my younger brother does a lot better than I do, just naturally he’s a lot more athletic than I am laterally. He’s a better all-around athlete than me. I kind of got the $%#@ end of the stick. It is what it is. The youngest get it all.”
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Hinish is so much like his older brother, it could be to his detriment. Just like Kurt sought second opinions to gain medical clearance during the 2021 season after some concussion concerns, Donovan played the entire season with a torn labrum. He injured his shoulder in July but did not get surgery on it until the winter.
“He should be recovered from that before the 2022 season, but his weight training may have fallen behind a touch. That, again, is hard to fathom from a Hinish and thus is likely an overreaction, but that possibility is further reason to pace Donovan this season.
“That is a distinct difference from Kurt’s freshman season, when an utter lack of depth on the defensive interior forced both Hinish and classmate Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to play full seasons in 2017, the freshman duo serving as Notre Dame’s second-string tackles.”
Does this look familiar? A Hinish wearing No. 41 for #NotreDame. This time it's Donovan. @D_Hinish51 @Truk_sauce
— Tyler James (@TJamesND) August 5, 2022
📸@3RD13 for @insideNDsports pic.twitter.com/5egzWGNUHX
2023 OUTLOOK
If Hinish ably plays 5-10 snaps each week, then the Irish two-deep will be immensely appreciative. That would mean Hinish is up to the task against at least a chunk of Notre Dame’s opponents, sparing the starters and the primary backups a little wear and tear as the season goes along.
Thorough preseason research has hardly begun, let alone reached a critical mass, but it can safely be assumed Notre Dame’s matchups with Ohio State (Sept. 23), USC (Oct. 14) and Clemson (Nov. 4) should be too competitive for a green sophomore. Duke (Sept. 30), Louisville (Oct. 7) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 28) may all have strong enough offensive lines to keep Hinish on the sidelines.
That leaves six games for him to rack up 60-plus snaps to close in on that average of five per week. It may be a bold thought, especially with four of them coming in the season’s first four weeks, though three of those are against teams outside the Power Five.
It may seem a low bar, but Hinish sparing the two-deep 40-plus snaps in the first month of the season will bear fruit in November, even if that fruit is not seen in Hinish tackles.
DOWN THE ROAD
On the surface, the Irish signed only one defensive tackle in the most recent class, early-enrollee Devan Houstan. Others could grow into the role, literally and figuratively, in the years to come, so Hinish will eventually have others to stay ahead of along the interior.
He will also have relatively low odds of leapfrogging any of classmate Tyson Ford or juniors Gabe Rubio and Jason Onye. All have more length than Hinish, something Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman will forever seek among defensive linemen.
But anyone betting against a Hinish did not pay attention to Kurt’s entire Irish career.
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth