Hinish was born on April 27, 1999, and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Central Catholic High School. As a junior in football, he recorded 32 tackles and helped the team compile a 15–1 record. As a senior in 2016, he made 27 tackles and three sacks, earning first-team all-state honors. He also was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25. He was ranked the eighth-best player in Pennsylvania and the number 26 overall defensive tackle by ESPN.[2]
College career
Hinish committed to the University of Notre Dame in March 2016.[3] He played his first season on their Fighting Irish football team in 2017 and appeared in 13 games, recording eight tackles.[4] In 2018, as a sophomore, Hinish played in all 13 games and made 13 tackles along with 1.5 sacks. The following year, he started every game and registered 15 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.[2]
As a senior in 2020, Hinish recorded 19 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks in 11 starts. In 2021, he was named team captain and broke the all-time record for most games played by a Notre Dame player.[5][6] He graduated following the 2021 season and finished his college career with All-Conference honors, 61 games played with 35 starts, 81 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 20 tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble.[7]
After going unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, Hinish was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent.[9] He started the preseason near the bottom of the depth chart, but was receiving first-team reps by the end of the preseason.[10] He became one of three undrafted rookies to make the final roster.[11]