The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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72 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW is the O-line leader. The O-line will be the leader of the team." A potential top beneficiary of the of- fensive line — senior running back Dono- van Edwards — is preaching a "something to prove" mindset for all the new starters. Hinton says he's on board. "That's what he was saying to us as well," Hinton indicated. "Everyone that's going to start now has been a second- string guy the previous year. Everybody gets the chance now to take what's there, to have what they feel like they deserve. That gives guys an edge, in competition and on the field as well. Guys are mission- oriented." Major Changes, Familiar Foes One intriguing aspect of the 2024 season for Hinton involves the return of some very recognizable adversaries to the schedule. With four former Pac-12 teams swelling the Big Ten to ranks to 18, Hinton noted a major chunk of Michigan's slate brings flashbacks. "It will be weird to play some of the Pac-12 teams again," he said. "It will be nice, though — nostalgic. We play USC, Washington, Oregon. They're all teams that beat us at least once at Stanford. "My first game of college ball, I played two snaps at Washington, the jumbo tight end. We were grounding and pounding. It was in the COVID year, and we were in 'Power King' [formation] about eight bil- lion times in a row. It was awesome." While he respects the Pac-12 refugees, Hinton said, in no way does he fear them. In fact, despite Stanford winning no more than four games in each of the past five seasons, the Cardinal held their own in contests with the more highlighted West Coast schools. "My view of the Pac-12 is different," Hinton said. "In my opinion, they're all beatable — very beatable. That might not be what people think, but it's my opinion. "At Stanford, we had dudes who weren't as overall talented as some of the guys here, but we would still give them the business sometimes. We handed it to them. "We beat Oregon my sophomore year. We beat USC my junior year. All of these teams that have the big names, we beat, and we were a 3-and-whatever team. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, and they are very beatable." Ohio State proved beatable each of the past three years. Everyone under- stands the combination of desperation and talent the Buckeyes bring into this year's showdown in Columbus. Hinton acknowledges already getting advance notice that the crowd in the Horseshoe isn't particularly fond of the Wolverines. "I'm really excited to go down there and find out what it's about," said Hin- ton. "We had them at home last year, and I got to see what that's about. I'm excited to see what the away climate is like." The offense always faces the tougher task in those situations, hearing the Last season, the 6-6, 340-pound Hinton played in 14 games with five starts — four at right tackle and one at left tackle. The former Stanford transfer (78) — shown with Donovan Edwards — celebrated both his 22nd birthday and the Wolverines' national championship on Jan. 8, 2024. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF