Notre Dame fans will be familiar with the last name of the Fighting Irish’s newest commitment in the 2022 class.
On Friday evening, Pittsburgh Central Catholic defensive tackle Donovan Hinish announced his pledge to the Fighting Irish, the same school that his older brother Kurt Hinish has played for since 2017. Kurt has already played four seasons for the Irish, but took advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility for the 2021 season.
Kurt’s final year with the Irish is 2021, but Notre Dame will have another Hinish on the team in 2022 with his younger brother.
“The tradition is a big thing; I love it there,” Hinish said of Notre Dame. “The culture and atmosphere are incredible. The biggest thing of all is their academics. It’s one of the best schools in the entire world.”
The younger Hinish committed to Notre Dame over other offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Coastal Carolina, Kent State, Pittsburgh, Toledo, UCF, Virginia Tech and Western Michigan. Notre Dame was offer No. 1 for Hinish back on Nov. 19, and the Irish instantly became the favorite to land his pledge.
Hinish has a relationship with defensive line coach Mike Elston that goes back years. Keith Gilmore recruited Hinish as the position coach while Elston had a stint as linebackers coach. But Elston moved over to coaching the defensive line for Kurt’s freshman season and has held that post ever since.
Donovan Hinish has visited Notre Dame countless times over the past few years and has gotten to know Elston very well.
“Coach Elston and I are close, and I talk to the coaching staff frequently,” Hinish added. “I think he’s a great guy and a great coach as well. We’ve gotten very close during the recruiting process. Overall, I enjoy talking to him and he’s an awesome coach.”
Donovan has had many conversations with his Kurt about what it would be like to be a student-athlete at Notre Dame, and he welcomes all of it with open arms.
“It’s definitely hard,” Donovan explained. “Their big thing is four years for 40 years. Kurt is grinding it out now so that he can set himself up for the rest of his life.
"As you’d expect, he’s partial for the school he wants me to choose. He always says how much he loves it up there.”
Actions speak louder than words. Kurt decided to play a fifth season at Notre Dame, showing just how much he does love being a student-athlete in South Bend.
“He was super excited,” Donovan said about his brother playing for Notre Dame in 2021. “He’s been busting his butt these past four years, and to get one more year with all of his brothers means the world to him. Seeing him that happy is awesome.”
He is Notre Dame’s 14th commitment in the 2022 cycle and fourth defensive line pledge.
Rivals lists Hinish with a 5.7 recruit ranking, the highest designation for a three-star prospect. He is ranked as the No. 15 prospect in Pennsylvania and the nation’s No. 33 defensive tackle.
Hinish was named to the 2020 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette WPIAL all-conference class 6A first-team defense and is a 2020 Pennsylvania coaches class 6A second-team defensive tackle. MaxPreps also lists Hinish on its 2020 all-state second team defense.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review lists Hinish as Western Pennsylvania’s No. 4 overall recruit in the 2022 class.
Hinish comes from quite the athletic family. His father, Kurt Sr., played football and his older sister, Kadin, ran track for Division II Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania. His oldest brother, Cory Nolton, was a tight end for Robert Morris of the Football Championship Subdivision.
His uncle, Christian Hinish, played a couple seasons at Georgia Tech, and cousin, Jacob Hinish, played for Yale.
Hinish will study science preprofessional studies with an emphasis on physical therapy.
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