Hinish: I've Always Loved ND
It’s safe to say Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Mike Elston made 2017 Pittsburgh defensive tackle Kurt Hinish's day.
The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder from Central Catholic High School received a message to call Elston on Thursday afternoon.
“I called and we talked for a little bit and then he said, ‘I think it’s time we offer you a scholarship. We’ve been in contact for a while, so I think we should take it to the next step,’” Hinish recalled.
“I was extremely excited. I told him, ‘You should see me in person. I have the biggest smile on my face. I’m extremely excited.’”
Hinish also counts schools like Pitt, Penn State, Baylor, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and West Virginia among others on his offer sheet, but it’s clear the Irish will be a factor moving forward.
“I just always loved Notre Dame,” he said. “I always loved Manti Te’o. There’s just something about Notre Dame. It kind of reminds me a lot of Central with the tradition and stuff they have going on over there. I’m Irish. I’ve always loved it. My dad has always loved it. I’ve just always loved Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame is also recruiting Hinish’s teammate, 2017 linebacker David Adams, who also has an offer from the Irish.
“Me and David want to play together in college,” Hinish said. “We’ve talked about that a lot actually, going to Notre Dame together. Now it’s possibility that it can happen. When he hears about it, he’s definitely going to be very excited. He’s probably going to give me a big hug and say, ‘Let’s go.’”
Hinish plans on outlining an itinerary of visits and South Bend will be on it.
“I’m going to sit down with my family within the next week and I’m going to make a plan to visit schools with Notre Dame being one of them,” he said. “I want to take a couple visits down South. I want to go to Ole Miss, Florida State probably and Baylor. I’m going to go see a decent amount of schools this summer.”
He expects to commit to a school before the fall.
“I’m going to make my decision in the summertime,” said Hinish. “Me and a couple of my teammates are thinking we’ll make our decision so we don’t have to worry about it during the season.”
That decision will be a blend of input from his family and his own intuition.
“Just the way my family feels with the college and my gut feeling, if it tells me I’ll be comfortable there. That’s really what it’s going to come down to, so we’ll see where I go.”