Tag: Christopher Hinton

2022 Giants training camp preview: Defensive line

The New York Giants will see a mix of old and new across their defensive line in 2022.

The New York Giants’ defense will be under a different direction this season with the arrival of coordinator Wink Martindale, one of the best in the business the past decade.

The unit will be coached by the well-travelled line coach Andre Patterson and former Pro Bowl linebacker-turned-coach Bryan Cox.

The Giants are relying on a mixture of holdovers and newcomers to form a group that hopefully will become the foundation of Martindale’s scheme.

Here is a quick rundown of the defensive line heading into training camp.

Giants officially sign 13 undrafted rookie free agents

The New York Giants have officially signed 13 undrafted rookie free agents ahead of their three-day minicamp.

The New York Giants will hold their three-day rookie minicamp beginning on Friday and that meant the arrival of many players on Thursday. It also meant the time had come to officially sign some contracts.

Following the NFL’s schedule release, the Giants officially announced the signing of 13 undrafted rookie free agents — many of whom we had been made aware of previously.

The 13 signees were as follows:

  • TE Austin Allen
  • DB Yusuf Corker
  • DT Jabari Ellis
  • DB Darren Evans
  • DB Zyon Gilbert
  • FB Jeremiah Hall
  • DT Christopher Hinton
  • TE Andre Miller
  • G Josh Rivas
  • DB Trenton Thompson
  • DT Antonio Valentino
  • RB Jashaun Corbin
  • EDGE Tomon Fox

In addition to those 13 players, the Giants have invited a slew of others for tryouts. And while those names have not yet been released, it’s expected that several NFL veterans will also be trying out for a spot on the 90-man roster.

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7-Round mock draft 4.0: Vikings make pass rush central focus

The Vikings add even more firepower to their defensive front this week

These mock drafts have been a really fun exercise in trying to figure out what options the Vikings have in April. This one is going to focus on two elements: a realistic trade down in gaining a second-round pick and fortifying the edge group.

Fortifying edge is an interesting proposition. The Vikings just restructured Danielle Hunter and signed Za’Darius Smith, but from a long-term perspective, there are still question marks. Answering those questions in a deep edge class with two of the best to learn from should be considered a high and likely priority.

Previous mock draft versions:

Vikings 7-round mock draft: Will Minnesota take a different approach?

Vikings 7-round mock draft 2.0: Kirk Cousins’ extension changes things

Vikings 7-round mock draft 3.0: Za’Darius Smith signing changes things

Starting Michigan football defensive lineman declares for NFL draft

Wow, didn’t expect this one.

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This one might sting a bit.

While it was thought that among the starters that Michigan football wouldn’t lose much save for those who exhausted their eligibility and edge rusher David Ojabo, a surprise declaration was made on Wednesday afternoon.

Christopher Hinton started the past two years for the Wolverines up front and really started coming on in 2021 as a solid defender at defensive tackle. Alongside Mazi Smith, Hinton helped secure a strong front, one that didn’t get after the passer up the middle, but was stout against the run.

However, Hinton has put on a winged helmet for the last time, it appears, as he announced he’s declared for the 2022 NFL draft.

Hinton appeared in all 14 games in 2021, had 33 tackles, a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss. He had two years of eligibility remaining.

He joins David Ojabo, Aidan Hutchinson, and Daylen Baldwin in Michigan’s NFL draft declarations.

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Georgia-native Michigan defensive players share outlook for playoff matchup

The Michigan football defense vs. the Georgia offense will be an interesting matchup!

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It seems no matter who you’re playing, there’s always going to be some internal reason why Michigan football holds some sort of grudge.

Though we’re used to seeing it more with rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, the same can be said for Georgia, the Wolverines’ next opponent come Dec. 31 in the College Football Playoff. And that’s because there’s a handful of players who grew up in the Peach State.

The highest-profile, of course, is third-year defensive tackle Christopher Hinton, who grew up in Norcross, near Atlanta, and was heavily recruited by the Bulldogs. Despite their perpetual advances, Hinton was one of the Wolverines’ earliest commits in the 2019 recruiting class, and never wavered, no matter how much the hometown team pushed.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited for this game,” Hinton said. “I grew up with a lot of guys, know a lot of guys. Obviously was recruited by them pretty hard. It’s the hometown team, but I’m excited to play Georgia, for sure.”

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For third-year cornerback DJ Turner, it’s something of a similar story, even though he wasn’t nearly as early of a pledge. Turner starred at North Gwinnett before transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior year and also had an offer from UGA.

He’s looking forward to suiting up against several players he’s gotten the opportunity to know throughout the years.

“It’s big,” Turner said. “From Georgia, it’s real big. I’m excited, I’m looking forward to playing in it.

“I know a whole bunch of them (players at Georgia). I played with them a whole bunch. Yeah, I know a whole bunch of them.”

Hinton, in particular, seems to have a lot of familiarity with a lot of the players on the Dawgs’ roster given his time playing football in greater Atlanta. Turner notes he also knows quite a few Bulldogs, but Hinton both played with and against several stars he’ll be seeing come Dec. 31.

“Me and Dominick Blaylock grew up together,” Hinton said. “Travon Walker and Nolan Smith, we spent a lot of time together during the recruiting process. I played against Justin Shaffer, the guard, in the playoffs. I played against Jamaree Solyer and Kearis Jackson in high school, and Kenny McIntosh, played against him in basketball. So, I know a lot of those guys. It’s gonna be fun.”

That said, what do they expect from the Georgia offense?

“They’re a really good team. They’ve got four really good backs they use differently, so we’ve gotta be prepared for that,” Hinton said. “They come out in certain personnels, give you different looks, so we’ve gotta be prepared for that. They were the No. 1 team in the country for the whole year, so we know what we have at hand. But we’re a good team, too. We’re gonna prepare these next couple weeks and be ready for UGA.”

“They’re a good, balanced team,” Turner said. “They can run the ball and pass the ball. And they’ve got playmakers. So we’ve gotta be ready.”

For Turner, he feels a bit bolstered not just from recent success, but considering there appears to be some consternation in Athens about whether or not it will be Stetson Bennett IV or J.T. Daniels under center, given Michigan’s quarterback rotation, he feels that the defensive backs will be uniquely prepared.

“Yeah, for sure – I’ll say that,” Turner said. “Going against Cade and J.J., I would say it doesn’t get much better. Going into the game confident.”

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Wolverines players trusting coaches’ plan for Georgia, College Football Playoff

It’s worked so far, no need to change things up now!

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Last week, Michigan football returned to practice as it readies for its first-ever opportunity in the College Football Playoff.

While the challenges Georgia presents might seem daunting, considering the Bulldogs were thought to be unbeatable — you know, before they were beaten by Alabama — the Wolverines are excited for the opportunity, and think that the coaches have a good plan to get them ready.

“Slowly working us back into it. (Thursday) we went, it was like our Tuesday practice – we’re bangin’,” third-year defensive tackle Christopher Hinton said. “The coaches have a great plan for us to not kill us early but to get us right, so we’re fresh for the game in a couple weeks. I just really like their plan, trust their plan, trust the coaches all year.”

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In preparation for playing in the nighttime heat of Miami Gardens, the team has been practicing indoors, as to get acclimated before heading down to Florida on Dec. 26. The added corollary is that the team was able to have just over a week off after the Big Ten Championship game, which helps players such as Blake Corum, who has been injured since early November.

While he is self-admittedly still not 100%, he feels that the time off helped immensely in clearing the air between the regular season and the postseason, while also helping him and others to get healthier.

“We’re locked in. We had a nice little week off, refresh our mind, refresh our bodies,” Corum said. “Now we’re back, locked in, focused on Georgia. Either watching their film, going over plays, plays that will work, and just getting ready for this Orange Bowl.”

That said, don’t expect the team to suddenly change things now that there’s the potential for two more games.

As Corum notes, they reached this point doing things the way they’ve done them all year long, there’s no point in suddenly doing things differently just because it’s the playoff.

“Goal’s still the same. The goal was to get this far, the goal is to keep going,” Corum said. “Our focus is the same, goal is the same. We’re still approaching everything the same way. It’s working – why change it? We’re gonna prepare the same and go from there.”

That said, it will be a clash between the Michigan offense, which leads the nation with 17 plays of 50-plus yards, and the top-ranked Georgia defense.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen much more imagination out of the Wolverine offense, from the usage of Donovan Edwards against Maryland, which set up the A.J. Henning end-around against Ohio State, which set up the Edwards throw downfield in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Do the offensive players feel like coordinator Josh Gattis has anything special saved up for this game and the possible one the following week?

“I wouldn’t really say he saves it, we just practice it and we use it when the opportunity presents itself,” third-year receiver Mike Sainristil said. “The opponent we play might not have the right defensive look for us to run it into, so we’ll just continue practicing it, keep it in the playbook. And as soon as the opportunity presents itself, we’re gonna use it.”

The excitement level in Schembechler Hall is palpable. As third-year cornerback DJ Turner says, this team is salivating at the opportunity to showcase its ability on a national stage once again.

“We’re back energized, refreshed, ready to go.”

The Capital One Orange Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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What Shaun Nua sees in Michigan’s defensive line struggles

The Michigan football defensive line hasn’t generated nearly as much pressure as usual and the team DL coach discusses why.

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Currently mired in a three-game losing streak, the program’s longest in a single-season since dropping their final three games of the 2017 campaign, there is more than just a singular issue plaguing Michigan football.

One of the most glaring, however, has been the lack of pressure generated by the defensive line. After posting five sacks in the season-opening victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Oct. 24, the Wolverines have totaled just one sack in the last three games, which came in the loss to the Wisconsin Badgers on Nov. 14.

Second-year defensive line coach Shaun Nua, who joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff after one season under Herm Edwards with the Arizona State Sun Devils, appeared on the Inside Michigan Football radio show with Jon Jansen on Monday to discuss his young – and banged up – position group and where they go from here.

Prior to embarking on his coaching career as an intern with BYU in 2009, Nua played for the Cougars from 2003-05 and spent three seasons on National Football League rosters with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, meaning he can relate to the frustration his players are feeling.

“You rely on the leadership that you have from your coaches, to the leaders on your team, especially your teammates, people that have your best interest,” Nua said. “It’s very, very easy, for times like this, for you to be very, very down and depressed and start pointing fingers. Truth is, it’s very simple, you just go the mirror and look in there and see what you can do better. That’s probably the main thing I learned through all the adversity as a player and now as a coach, it holds true then, and it still holds true now.

“What can you do as an individual to get better? What can I do as a coach to help my guys? What can I do as a coach to help the other coaches? That’s kind of my focus right now, just dig deep, humble yourself, and figure out what the heck is going on.”

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While not completely absolving the defensive line for their struggles, Nua’s young men have been hit particularly hard by the injury bug.

The team’s starting defensive ends, junior Aidan Hutchinson and senior Kwity Paye, are presently sidelined. The former left the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington on Nov. 7 with a fracture in his right leg and will likely miss the remainder of the season, while the latter was unavailable for the Wisconsin contest due to a reported groin injury.

“Anytime you lose players the caliber of those two, you want to change, but you don’t want to change too much, not in a panic mode,” Nua said. “You still got to have faith in the guys that are up next, you know, next guy up mentality, but at the same time, the hardest part, you lose two leaders. That’s probably just as much of them as players.

“The challenge now falls, not just on the players that are stepping up, but myself to make sure, not only their mindset is right, but that they know what they’re doing so that way they can perform at a higher level.

“Losing those two definitely is a challenge, but I also look at is as an opportunity for guys like (redshirt sophomore) Taylor Upshaw, all the younger guys, (redshirt junior) Luiji Vilain, (redshirt freshman) Gabe Newburg, for those guys to step up and see what they can do. That’s what we’re going through right now.”

With Hutchinson and Paye out of action, redshirt senior Carlo Kemp slid out from his normal tackle spot to end against the Badgers. As Nua shared, having an experienced player with this type of versatility is a luxury and someone the younger guys can learn from.

“It means the world because it’s a very sensitive thing,” he said. “Does that mean you have lesser faith in the guys that were there? No, it’s just you want to put the best players on the field, and we have good faith in (Christopher) Hinton and (Donovan) Jeter inside, and Kemp was the next best guy.

“To have him, it’s not like he hasn’t played the position before, he played it two years ago, so, it was almost like an easy move for us to say, ‘OK, we’re playing Wisconsin, let’s get some bigger bodies out there.’

“He did a heck of a job getting the plays down, especially the technique and the fundamentals to play on that edge, he did a good job.”

One of the few positive takeaways from the 38-point loss to Wisconsin, which was the program’s worst home defeat in nearly 85 years, was the extended action some of the younger ends saw, particularly Upshaw and Vilain. Nua took a moment to comment on what he saw from some of his less experienced student-athletes.

“Obviously, not good enough for us to win, but very, very encouraging to see them get in there and make some plays,” he said. “Taylor (Upshaw) did a great job of taking advantage of some of the plays that came his way and made some plays. The experience they get is invaluable, it’s constantly strengthening their foundation of them continuing to become better players.

“Unfortunately, their time has come a lot faster than we thought with Kwity (Paye) and Aidan (Hutchinson) being out, but it’s still a good opportunity for all of them. Guys like Gabe Newburg, Taylor Upshaw, Luiji Vilain, huge, huge opportunity for them to get better, get some experience.”

Paye was in sweats on the sideline on Nov. 14, but Nua remained vague when Jansen asked about when fans will see him back on the field.

“Hopefully, as soon as possible. The sooner, the better, and I know he’s working his butt off trying to get back as fast as possible.

“His influence on these guys is very, very high, they respect him a lot. I told him, ‘Do not shy away during the game, you’re basically one of the coaches now, go help out, whatever you see, help out the guys on the edges.’

“And that’s exactly what he did because his experience is invaluable for us. He did a good job communicating with the guys on the sideline and it was fun to watch him see the game from that perspective. Hopefully, we get him soon.”

Transitioning to the interior of the line, Nua laid out the plan for steady improvement for sophomore Christopher Hinton, redshirt junior Donovan Jeter, and redshirt freshman Mazi Smith.

“Consistency,” Nua said. “Especially with Jeter and Chris Hinton, consistency is my biggest challenge to them, consistently dominant the middle.

“We all know we’re not there yet, so, the challenge for them is consistency. Mazi Smith and (redshirt junior) Jess Speight, they don’t have a lot of experience in there, so, that’s what they need. Whatever reps they get is huge for their development.

“The two veteran guys, Hinton and Jeter, the challenge for them is to consistently be dominant, and be more dominant in the middle.”

The next chance for the defensive line to generate some pressure and build some confidence among the fans will come on Saturday against Greg Schiano’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. EST on the Big Ten Network.

Rutgers is averaging just 328.8 yards per game, a total that ranks No. 104 among Football Bowl Subdivision programs, and has surrendered eight sacks, suggesting this matchup could be exactly what Nua’s group needs.

Chris Hinton explains DL struggles in early going

Why the Michigan football defensive line hasn’t been as good so far this season.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Thus far, four games into the season, according to PFF, Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Christopher Hinton has been solid, but not spectacular.

The Wisconsin game notwithstanding, Hinton has managed solid grades across the board, but the interior defensive line — or the whole of the D-line — hasn’t been able to get home. Five team sacks in Big Ten Week 1 gave way to none for two successive weeks before Carlo Kemp ended the drought against the Badgers.

For Hinton, he’s aware that he’s doing an OK job, but feels like there’s a lot more he can do to help the team.

“Personally, I feel like – I always feel like I could play better,” Hinton said. “I don’t care how well I play. I’m a hard critic on myself, I’ve been like that since I was a little kid. My parents, they’ve instilled that in me, just never be satisfied. Obviously, we haven’t been getting the results that we’ve been wanting. Obviously, no matter how well I’ve been playing, there’s still ways that I can play even better to maybe impact the game even more. The D-line, we all feel the same way. At this point, it doesn’t matter how well we play, because the results have not been what we’ve been wanting. We just look at ourselves in the mirror, just have to improve every week, every day.”

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So why hasn’t the defensive line been able to break through? Why has it been subpar compared to its predecessors?

Hinton says a lot of it has to do with what other teams are doing offensively.

“A lot of teams have been doing a lot of max protection and play action,” “A lot of quick throws. You’ve seen the quarterbacks we’ve been playing against are getting the ball out really fast. If you watch, we’re like one step away – a lot of times we’re one step away or like one second away from getting a sack. But the quarterbacks and the scheme – there’s been a lot of quick throws and a lot of max protections.”

That said, Hinton says there’s no excuse for the defensive line’s struggles. No matter what an offense throws at the unit, he says it has to find a way to get home.

Without that, the struggles very well could continue.

“I try to get my hands up, try to deflect passes, because a lot of these short passes are low to the line of scrimmage, so I have a good chance,” “I have long arms and I have a good knack for where the ball would be. Get my hands up and try to deflect passes – you can change the game in that sense. Maybe just change up some pass rushes – just don’t have that much time. Just try to get there quicker. You just try to find things here or there to get there faster. It’s hard, but there’s no excuse. We just have to be able to execute, get pressure on the quarterback and get hits on the quarterback, because that’s the name of the game.

“Just seeing if you would have been able to pulled in faster here, or maybe swim faster here, you could eliminate the one second that we needed. We’ve been sure been trying to hone in on that.”

How Michigan DT Chris Hinton matured from Year 1 to Year 2

Michigan football defensive tackle Chris Hinton shares why Year 2 is different for him and why he stuck with the Wolverines despite other schools coming after him.

Michigan football defensive tackle Chris Hinton shares why Year 2 is different for him and why he stuck with the Wolverines despite other schools coming after him.

Where Michigan ranks in overall talent across college football

With the 2020 Big Ten season about to kick off, we break down where Michigan stands in terms of talent from a national perspective.

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Examining and ranking every Football Bowl Subdivision roster based on how their student-athletes ranked as high school prospects, the 247Sports Team Talent Composite is meant to provide a baseline understanding of the talent each program possesses.

Of course, some prospects do not live up to the lofty ranking achieved during their prep days, and others exceed expectations, but, generally, the programs at the top of the recruiting rankings are the ones competing for conference and national championships.

An exercise the publication embarked on in 2015, 247Sports released the 2020 version of their Team Talent Composite rankings on Oct. 9, with Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs leading the way. Featuring 68 blue-chip prospects – classified as four or five-star players – on their current roster, the Bulldogs totaled a team score of 991.53, good for a 93.27 average. Sophomore linebacker Nolan Smith, freshman cornerback Kelee Ringo, and redshirt sophomore running back Zamir White were Georgia’s three highest-rated players.

Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide (985.86), Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes (976.48), Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers (915.57), and Tom Herman’s Texas Longhorns (892.91) rounded out the top-five.

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Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines appeared at No. 17 and were the third-highest rated Big Ten Conference program, with James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions grabbing No. 13.

Registering an 827.18, the Wolverines’ roster consists of two five-stars, 41 four-stars, and 38 three-stars. Safety Daxton Hill and defensive tackle Chris Hinton, both sophomores and the program’s only five-stars, stood atop the list and were closely followed by sophomore running back Zach Charbonnet, senior defensive end Luiji Vilain, and freshman wide receiver A.J. Henning.

A product of Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort, Illinois, Henning was the crown jewel of Michigan’s 23-member 2020 recruiting class, which ranked No. 14 nationally and second-best in the Big Ten.

While there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Wolverines with the upcoming season set to kick in slightly over one week, this is the lowest 247Sports has been on the program’s talent in their six-year history of composing such rankings. For four-straight years from 2015-18, Michigan ranked in the website’s top-10, earning No. 9, 8, 7, and 8, respectively. In 2019, Harbaugh’s roster was rated as No. 11.

As many would expect, the Southeastern Conference was well-represented in the 2020 rankings, earning ten of the Top 25 spots, including Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers at No. 6, Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators at No. 7, and Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies at No. 11.

Other Big Ten rankings include Scott Frost’s Nebraska Cornhuskers at No. 24, Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers at No. 27, and Mike Locksley’s Maryland Terrapins at No. 32.

The Wolverines will begin their 2020 campaign against P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten in 2019) at TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 24 at 7:30 P.M. EDT on ABC.

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