Donovan Hinish has seen more of Notre Dame football than most of his teammates — and long before he put on the blue and gold.
The Pittsburgh native grew up with a front-row seat to the Irish program, watching his older brother, Kurt, play in South Bend for five seasons.
Yet, Hinish's career didn't start exactly as he had imagined when he arrived on campus.
“Coming in, I was thinking I was going to follow my brother's path,” stated Hinish. “He played here five years, set the record for the most games played in Notre Dame history.
“I was thinking, he did it his freshman year, I'll be able to do it mine. Obviously, that didn't happen. I was on scout my freshman year. Played one snap all season against Boston College in the worst game ever. Couldn't feel my hands. Sophomore year, had a limited role. In my junior year, started to pick it up.
Hinish told no lies as 2024 was a breakout season. The 6-foot-2, 277-pounder appeared in all 16 games while tallying 45 tackles and 4.5 sacks, including sacking Gunner Stockton to end the Sugar Bowl.
What allowed Hinish to remain patient? It’s his selfless mindset and buying into what Marcus Freeman preaches in regards to team glory.
“The truth lies in the work,” said Hinish. “There's never a time where you're like, ‘Hey, I'm ready.’ At that point, you're being selfish because you're looking only out for you and not for the team. You have to put your head down and go to work day in, day out and wait for upper management or bosses to give you a call.”
Notre Dame enters 2025 with high expectations inside The Gug and from the outside as the Irish are coming off an appearance in the National Title game.
The Irish enter 2025 coming off a National Championship Game appearance and with sky-high expectations. On the defensive line, Hinish is part of perhaps the deepest group in recent Notre Dame memory, a room Al Washington has built on talent, experience, and a specific standard.
“The standard has been the standard,” Hinish explained. “You're either going to meet the standard or you're not. If you can't meet the standard, then back up because the guy behind you will. You've got to fight to reach the top and you've got to fight to reach the standard. If you're not going to do that, watch out.
“If you're going to do that, welcome in. Losing guys like Howard (Cross III) and Rylie (Mills), it's a loss. We've got guys that are willing to step up. We're going to war. The standard is the standard.
“It's been set. Coach Washington does a great job developing us and working us to reach our full potential. I think that once you have the standard set, you need to reach it or you can bow down, but the standard is not going to change, no matter who you are.”
With production comes responsibility and Hinish is now embracing a leadership role, leaning on lessons from his brother, who was a captain in 2021.
“I definitely feel like I have a leadership role now that I'm an older dude,” Hinish stated. “My leadership style varies on who it is. Some guys, you can yell at them, and that'll motivate them. If you yell at the wrong guy, you might get the wrong results. You have to change up who you talk to and the way you talk to them. I feel like that works.
“I'm not going to tell the younger guys in the room to do something that I'm not going to do. If they're trying to gain weight or something, if they eat at night and I'm not eating at night, that's hypocritical. That's always something that I've stood by. Just trying to lead by example and doing what I say and not saying something just to say it.”
Hinish loves what he sees beyond the defensive line. The Irish defense may be considered one of the nation’s best, but in his eyes, they’re still motivated by something deeper.
“Just a bunch of misfits,” Hinish explained. “Everyone on that defense has been counted out or looked down upon a little bit. I think all of us have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, have a little bit of grit behind us. A little bit of stuff in our neck is the best way I can put it. I think everyone on our defense is rough, tough, gritty dudes. We're not there to mess around.”
And yes, the loss to Ohio State still lingers, but as motivation, not a burden or pressure to return the favor in 2025.
“We look at it as a lesson,” said Hinish. “We don't look at it as, 'I h, we lost the national championship,’ and beat ourselves up.’ We look at it as a lesson. We take that as a learning example and it's going to help us reach the next level. We got to the top of the mountain peak, but we got pushed off. We've got to fight our way back on top of it and reach the peak.
“There’s not a day that goes by where someone in the locker room isn't thinking about it. We're working extra hard, just thinking about that moment, how close we were, how bad we won it. That will stick in the back of our heads.
“We have it in us. We're a tough group. We're a talented group. We're a smart group. We got all the intangibles. Now, if we can put them together, that's what matters.”
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