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When you’re an offensive lineman living in Wisconsin and you have an offer from Wisconsin, you know you’re doing something right. But if you have an offer from Wisconsin, Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, LSU, Notre Dame and Oregon? Yeah, you’re doing something really right.
Such is the case for 2022 Hammond (WI) St. Croix Central four-star offensive guard Carson Hinzman. When Sept. 1 rolled around and college coaches could initiate with the nation’s No. 116 player in the country, regardless of position, he heard from coaches from all across college football, all clamoring for his services.
Of course, Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner was one of those many who made sure to reach out. Hinzman told WolverinesWire that what was once tepid has seemed to gather quite a bit of steam in both recent weeks as well as days. Regardless, they’ve been able to work on building a solid relationship.
“It’s been great. We had a little bit of a period where we didn’t have a whole lot of communication, but after we have been able to communicate a lot more,” Hinzman said. “It’s only been two days but he’s been pushing a lot of Michigan values and things like that. We’ve had a few conversations before, obviously, but we’ve really been talking a lot. He’s a really great guy. He sees me fit as a great player. It would be crazy to play for all those people, too. It’s The Big House. It’s called The Big House for a reason.
“He’s a really great guy and I’m honored to be talking to him.”
While hearing from Warinner was expected, what was not for Hinzman was getting a call from none other than Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
When Harbaugh’s name came across his screen on the morning of Sept. 1, it was something of a surreal moment for him.
“Yep, most of the staff actually contacted me, including Coach Harbaugh, which was awesome,” “Obviously it’s pretty great for a man of his status to reach out. I think the majority of the staff reached out, which is really awesome.
“He just kinda pushed the same thing that Coach Warinner did, which is, ‘I really would love for you to come to Michigan. We think it would be a great fit for you.’ That’s pretty much it. Just him explaining a little bit how he thinks Michigan would be a great fit for me. It’s just kind of a little bit of a shell-shock when you see his name pop up on your phone at 6 in the morning!”
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At the moment, Penn State appears to be pushing the hardest for Hinzman, with Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame, Iowa, Tennessee and Arizona State also competing for his services.
As far as what Hinzman is looking for, he’s just looking for the right ‘fit,’ as he explains it. Unsure of when he’ll make a commitment or even whittle his list down, a big part of what appeals to him is the mentality of the staff, the players and even those on campus when it comes to their football program.
“I really like to focus on the culture – yeah, just mostly on that,” Hinzman said. “When you get onto the campus, you know this is a college town. You know that the people really love and support their athletes and that they really have a winning mentality. That they don’t make excuses, like, ‘Man, our schedule’s really tough this year, so we didn’t really do too well,’ or something like that. We feel that we’re working to get better is the answer I’m looking for – that we didn’t do a great job.
“I just love a school that’s like, ‘We’re gonna win a title this year, we’re gonna get after it, we’re gonna win the national championship,’ because I mean, that’s all you can really ask for is the hard work.”
Though he grew up rooting for Wisconsin along with his family, Hinzman insists that he isn’t destined to be a Badger. Once he’s able to get out and see all of the places that are of mutual interest, then he’ll be able to decipher which has the best cultural fit for him — whether it’s down the road or thousands of miles away.
“Yeah, it could be – the school could be Wisconsin, it could be Hawaii, it could be Syracuse – you never really know,” Hinzman said. “It just depends which school is a major fit for you. Obviously Wisconsin pulls on my heart strings a little bit because it’s our community and my family’s always been (fans), but I’m just a fan of football. It doesn’t matter – like I said, any of those places. It just matters if the culture’s right, if the academics are great and what best place fits you.”