“I hope they’re not shocking me with any other moves,” Hinkel said with a smile. “I like where I am now.”
Listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Hinkel is clearly not a candidate for the line. Yet linebackers coach Matt Edwards said Hinkel is the kind of player who would go full blast up front if the coaches wanted him there.
“He’s got a few sandwiches left before we can make that move,” Edwards said. “But if we asked him to, he would do it. He’d try.”
Edwards said Hinkel, from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, has always been a physical safety, so the move to linebacker wasn’t a great leap.
The idea was to get more speed on the field, at linebacker and in the secondary. Watching Hinkel in practice, one might think he’s been a linebacker all his life.
“All the things that we hoped would happen this spring really are coming to fruition this fall,” Edwards said. “Pat’s bringing speed and athleticism down into the box, but he’s also bringing great leadership. It’s helping us get the best 11 on the field, and I appreciate the way Pat’s attacked the change. He didn’t bat an eye.”
“Coach Pete (defensive coordinator Jay Peterson) just wants us running to the football,” Hinkel said. “As a safety, I liked when I got to drop down in the box. Now I’m always in the box. Sometimes I’ll get pushed around, but I’m always trying to come back the next play.”
Hinkel said Peterson gave him the news about the change.
“He came up to me when I was walking into the stadium one day and asked how much I weighed,” Hinkel said. “I said, ‘About 200.’ He’s like, ‘How about 210? We’re moving you to linebacker.’
“I embraced it. I put the team first,” he continued. “I’ve been trying to gain weight through the spring up until now. Coach Pete is always asking me what my weight is. It’s like an ongoing joke.”
Hinkel describes Peterson as “our energy guy.” The experienced defense is following his lead in practice.
“We’re bringing great intensity every day,” Hinkel said. “We’re getting better every day.”
Hinkel and redshirt junior Chris Wade are the projected starters at outside linebacker. Redshirt senior Jaytee Swanson is the middle linebacker in Miami’s 4-3 defense.
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