The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 71 BY JOHN BORTON M yles Hinton doesn't let the big ones get away. Whether fishing for football championships or massive rod-benders in the Gulf of Mexico, he's pulling them in with reg- ularity these days. The 6-6, 340-pound senior offen- sive tackle transferred from Stanford to Michigan a year ago. He sought a change and tumbled into a 15-0 magical ride for a national title. He never imagined it play- ing out quite like it did. "My main goal was to like where I was at," Hinton said. "I wasn't trying to jump on a train, but I was really excited with how it turned out." Hinton took a wait-and-see atti- tude regarding all the predictions about Michigan football a year ago. When the Wolverines got into practices, it became clear this could be more than an ordinary season. "We got going, and it was like we're a good team," he recalled. "We just kept rolling, and it was insane." College football's biggest prize cer- tainly ranks as his most publicized achievement since making the move from Palo Alto to Ann Arbor. But the avid fish- erman lights up just as much when pon- dering an offseason big catch. "I went down to Cancun for spring break with my parents," Hinton recalled. "We went on a charter, and we were fish- ing for marlin. I said, 'Dude, we need to go to the reefs and fish for grouper and snapper.' We go to a reef, I drop down some baits, and the captain had a big rod up top, with a giant lead on it. "That rod goes after about half an hour, and it's like a fire drill. The rod was handed down, from person to person. I get the rod in my hands, and they're saying 'Reel, reel, reel!' Somebody said barracuda. Whatever it was on the end, it was a huge fish. It would dig for a lit- tle bit, then kind of be dead weight. Dig more, dead weight. "It feels like somebody put a tire on the end of the line, and I'm bringing it in 100 feet. Eventually, I see color on the fish. It was a black grouper. "They gaffed it and started bringing it on the boat. My hands are shaking. Everything is just vibrating. I go to grab the fish and everything on it is sharp. Its teeth are sharp, its gills are sharp where I put my hand in to grab it." More on the grouper later. Right now, Hinton finds his focus fully on more foot- ball success, and he's convinced the im- pending season will be anything but a mess for Michigan. Big Move, Big Payoff Michigan recruited Hinton out of high school, but the huge offensive lineman took a different path. His brother Chris battled as a defensive lineman for the Wolverines while Myles made his way to Stanford. The younger Hinton doesn't speak ill of his former school but makes it clear Michigan featured what he ulti- mately needed. He described the move — and certainly the amazing result last year — as reviving his love for football. "Part of it was maturity, and part of it was the environment for practice," Hin- ton said. "You can be in a spot where it was good, but not what you need. "You have two seeds. You plant both in the soil. But one seed might need more of one nutrient. You're in a good spot, but you might not grow like you're supposed to grow, because what you need is not in the soil. Moving to Michigan got me what I needed." When it came time to make a move, Ann Arbor seemed the logical choice. "For sure," he said. "My brother went here. My parents lived in Ann Arbor for a year or two while he went to school. It was like a second home, in a way. I visited on breaks when he was here. I vacationed here." There were adjustments to be made — more physical practices, with more full- team periods, which he appreciates. One of the most jarring changes, though, in- volved hearing a jubilant roar from a col- lege football crowd, and adjusting to the fact that it represented something good. "I had a rough start in that first game," Hinton admitted. "I was talking to [Drake] Nugent, the guy who transferred over with me. When they started cheer- ing for us, I was freaking out. 'Bro, what are we doing? We messed up.' "I was used to going to a bigger sta- dium, having a bigger crowd and it being an away game. That's something I had to get over the first few games." By the last game, the cheers were both expected and appreciated. "The biggest highlight, of course, was the natty," he said. "I turned 22 the night of the natty. It was super cool, because we won the game and then it was my birthday. It was like a birthday present." He'd like to unwrap more this year and concedes nothing, like the rest of the Wolverines. Michigan's all-new starting offensive line, and everyone on Hinton's side of the football, stands ready to roll again, he insists. "Everybody in the queue is ready to go," he said. "They've studied the playbook hard in the offseason. [Graduate offensive lineman] Josh Priebe transferred in, and he's already teaching kids. He's a natural leader. It's not going to be like one person Hinton, an avid fisherman, pulled in this 30-pound black grouper on a charter boat excursion into the Gulf of Mexico. PHOTO COURTESY MYLES HINTON