Notre Dame Defensive Tackle Donovan Hinish Announces Retirement From Football
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Irish Breakdown has confirmed that Notre Dame captain and defensive tackle Donovan Hinish will retire from football due to a shoulder injury. This was first reported by Matt Freeman. Hinish was a member of the 2022 recruiting class and was one of its few members that still had eligibility remaining for the upcoming 2026 season. His decision was ultimately due to a shoulder injury that he sustained earlier this year and battle with for the duration of the 2025 season.
The Pittsburgh native played in 38 games in his Fighting Irish career including all four post season games from last year's playoff run. He totaled 845 snaps on defense since 2022 racking up 57 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for a loss and 47 total pressures during his time in a Notre Dame uniform. Hinish was elected one of six team captains for the 2025 season and played in 11 games this year, starting in three of them including the season opener against Miami down in Hard Rock Stadium.
He was expected to be a key building block for the interior of Notre Dame's defensive line heading into next season with Gabriel Rubio and Jared Dawson exhausting all of their eligibility. Fellow defensive tackle Jason Onye's future in college now falls into the hands of the NCAA as they decide whether to grant Onye with a 6th year of eligibility. It was already looking thin, but now the defensive tackle depth, albeit talented, is very inexperienced and relatively thin.
Hinish was one of the few players from the 2022 class with the eligibility to return in 2026. Linebacker Jaylen Sneed, defensive end Josh Burnham and center Ashton Craig's future remains uncertain with the decision looming ahead of potentially returning for 2026, hitting the portal or departing for the NFL. Left guard Billy Schrauth recently announced his decision to go to the league along with right tackle Aamil Wagner, running back Jadarian Price and tight end Eli Raridon. Linebacker Junior Tuihalamaka has also exhausted all of his eligibility.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native was the second Hinish to come through the program with his older brother Kurt Hinish playing for the Irish from 2017 to 2021. There has been a Hinish wearing No. 41 in the Notre Dame program since 2017 and 2026 will be the first season in almost a decade without. Both Kurt and Donovan were ended their careers as Notre Dame captains and left a lasting mark on head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish program.
This decision further amplifies the disappointment to how this season ended for Notre Dame. Looking back, it's difficult to think about how the Stanford game in the waning hours of the night were the last time we would see guys like Jeremiyah Love, Price, Wagner and now Hinish put on a Notre Dame uniform. This was not the ending that many of us had imagined, but if you know anything about Donovan Hinish and the Hinish family, you would know that this was not an easy decision. But the future is still bright for the 6-2, 277-pound former defensive tackle.
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