Four Schools Stand Out to 2019 Lineman Christopher Hinton, Jr.
THE LATEST: Christopher Hinton is one of the top 2019 prospects in the country. He is a 6-foot-5, 265 pound sophomore out of Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian that could project as a strongside defensive end, defensive tackle or offensive tackle.
He was a big freshman that passed the eye-test in 2015, but as a sophomore in 2016, he was making the plays that top football prospects make.
Hinton has already pulled in offers from schools like Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State and South Carolina.
"This is all such a great experience," said Hinton. "I don't think about offers specifically but I do think about favorites and where I want to go to college even though I am a sophomore."
He will have plenty of options to choose from. His father (Christopher Hinton, Sr.) played at Northwestern and then in the NFL. Having him right there is a big help.
"My father being a former NFL player helps a lot. He knows what it takes to be elite and he knows what to do to be where I want to be one day. He tells me how to take care of my body on and off the field to give me an edge. He really helps me a lot."
Signing day 2017 just passed less than a month ago, so there are still 23 months to go before Hinton signs his letter of intent. All the offers and attention only fuels him to work harder.
"It's such a blessing to be where I am at right now," said Hinton. "I know that I can't let this attention get to my head. All of this attention only means I need to work 20 times harder and that is what I plan to do."
Hinton will be one of the top prospects in his class, and although it is very early in the recruiting process for him, four schools stand out.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: "My favorites right now are Clemson, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina," said Hinton.
"Those four schools first of all have been showing the most attention. Those schools possess things I am looking for academically. and they all have a great football tradition. All of them except for Michigan aren't too far from home, but distance isn't a large factor for me.
"When I pick a school, the school has to show that they care about me as Christopher Hinton and not as just a football player. I need the school to seem like the genuinely care for me."
RIVALS REACTION: Hinton is only a sophomore, and a very mature one. He is taking the recruiting process very slow. He plans to hit the road during spring break and he will visit Clemson, Duke, North Carolin and Virginia Tech. Both his mother and father graduated from Northwestern, but the Wildcats are one of the favorites early. He has a great relationship with Tracy Rocker, the now former defensive line coach at Georgia, but he kept the Bulldogs in his top four. Michigan was the first school to offer him during his freshman year and the Wolverines are one to watch. I expect this list to change in the coming months as he continues to add offers, take more visits and begin to form strong relationships with certain coaches. A key to his recruitment could end up being which side of the ball schools recruit him to play. His preference is defensive line.