Notre Dame Football: Kurt Hinish Talks About The Toughness He Will Bring To Notre Dame Football

Kurt Hinish plans to bring some nasty to the Notre Dame defensive line.

Kurt Hinish is a focused young man who plans to continue his gritty play at the University of Notre Dame.

“I want to go and play. I’m going to be a pretty rotten dude when I put on pads in August,” said Hinish.

“Not to sound rude or cocky or anything but we’re talking about big time football now. I’m not in high school anymore. My dad told me it’s time to grow up. It’s time to stop being a little boy and it’s time to be a man. I’m going to play old school, blue-collar football the way I do.”

Kurt grew up playing football in the Pittsburgh area and it means everything to him. He explained.

“I started playing football when I was 7. It was just something that I loved doing. The bonds you form on a football team are like a brotherhood that you can’t form anywhere else and that’s something I’ve gotten attached to.”

“Football has rewarded me so much that I can’t thank it enough, with getting a scholarship to go to college and all kinds of accolades, meeting all kinds of people and getting opportunities.

"“The game of football has done a lot for me so I feel like I have to pay my dues to it. That’s why I work so hard.”"

Kurt Hinish has been working hard to get himself physically prepared for college football. Here’s what he had to say about his progress of the field and his thoughts on his freshman season.

“I’m 295. I had my athletic trainer check my body fat and it was 17%. So, I’m doing all right.”

“I want to play so bad as a freshman up there. I want to get time as a freshman, so I’ve been doing everything in my power to make sure it’s hard for them to not put me on that field.”

“If I go in there and get redshirted, I won’t get upset. If I get time with the second, or the third squad, I’d be content with that, as long as I get some playing time.”

He then spoke about where he feels he fits in on the Irish defensive line.

“I can play either, honestly. I’d rather play D tackle. I’m a little more versatile. I can play up and down the line. I can play defensive end. I can play nose tackle. I’m pretty fast for my size, so I can do it all, pretty much. It doesn’t really matter to me where I play. I just enjoy playing.”

Kurt Hinish had many offers but three were talked about the most regarding his recruitment, Penn State, Pittsburgh and obviously Notre Dame.

“To be honest with you, I really loved Penn State. It was a really tough decision coming down to Penn State and Notre Dame. I really didn’t like the idea of going to Pitt that much. I feel like it would’ve been taking the easy way out, staying at home and being in my comfort zone.”

“I feel like you find out who you are when you get out of your comfort zone. That’s why I wanted to be far away from home.”

"“I really loved Penn State and it’s two hours away but at the end of the day, Notre Dame can take me farther in life so that’s what I chose to go there.”"

He then spoke about his visit, where he fell in love, but explained that it got off to a bit of a rocky start.

“My dad took the wrong exit off the highway, so we came in the wrong way. I thought it looked so ugly. I was like “This is Notre Dame? You’re kidding me!?” Then we came in the front and I saw the Golden Dome and the Our Mother statue and it was out of this world. I was so amazed by it.”

“Not to be weird or anything, but even the smell of the place. The locker room, the training facility, the changing table, everything about it. I fell in love. My heart felt like I needed to be there. It felt like a home away from home. That’s what I loved about it.”

Kurt goes to Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. He likes the similarities Notre Dame has and told me all about it.

“The school I go to now is a big tradition school. It’s a lot like Notre Dame. Notre Dame is like my high school on steroids. It reminds me so much of the school I’m at right now and I love my school.”

He praises Notre Dame as a whole and the culture that comes with it. He “get’s it.”

“Just the program itself. Notre Dame is the mecca of college football. It’s fantastic. The records. Lou Holtz and everybody who was there before him. The program has always done well. The academics speak for themselves. The students far exceed the average college student.”

"“It’s an opportunity I could not refuse.”"

The recent recruiting classes of Notre Dame have been very successful partly because of the companionship among recruits on social media. Here’s what he told me about that..

“We’re all in a group message. We all talk every day. We bond really well. The ’17 and the ’18 class. We talk every single day. When I was on my visit, I got to hang out with some of the early enrollees who are already there. We’re all pretty good buddies, so it’s awesome.”

Notre Dame has done extremely well in Pennsylvania in the past, especially the last few years. He spoke to me about his fellow PA Irish commits.

“I love those guys. Josh Lugg is right in my back yard. He’s only a little bit of a drive for me and I see David Adams in school every day.”

“I met David when I was in 8th grade at a football camp. We talked, but nothing too serious. In 9th grade, we were on the freshman football team together and we bonded pretty well there. Me and David always had a connection with one another that a lot of kids don’t have.”

“We were both pretty good players so we always stuck together. We separated ourselves from the school and from the negativity that goes on. We try to isolate ourselves from all that and do what’s best for us. We look out for each other, eat lunch together every day, just me and him.”

“When he got surgery on his shoulder, I went over to his house to visit him and see how he was doing. We’re pretty tight.”

A week before National Signing Day, Brian Kelly and Chip Long visited Pennsylvania to see a few of their prized recruits from the state, including ’18 quarterback, Phil Jurkovec.

“That was fun. It was me, Josh Lugg and David Adams. We went to Phil’s (Jurkovec) basketball game. We sat with Coach Kelly and Coach Long. Everyone kept turning around in the stands to talk to Coach Kelly.”

“I thought it was pretty cool. I thought it was something that was very admirable. He makes an impact on so many people. I think that’s so cool.”

When it comes to football, Kurt Hinish is all business, no matter who he’s playing. Here’s a prime example of that notion.

“Phil Jurkovec, his school is my school’s biggest rival. When he first committed to Notre Dame, he texted me and said “we’re going to go to school together and I can’t wait.”

“I wasn’t a jerk about it but I said “I’m a pretty business oriented guy when it comes to playing football, so if you could stay away from me until we get to Notre Dame, then we can be friends.””

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I really like Kurt Hinish’s relentless, focused and aggressive attitude that you can truly see on the football field. I believe he will continue to work hard and play with the toughness he’s accustomed to which will lead to success at Notre Dame.