GREENFIELD — Jake Hinton said he’s always wanted to be the best of the best.
That’s just who he is and what he strives for.
He’s done it in the classroom and football field and plans on continuing that path for his future.
The 6-foot, 4-inch 205-pound Greenfield-Central senior linebacker is the Daily Reporter Hancock County Defensive Football Player of the Year.
He helped lead the Cougars to one of their best seasons in school history, finishing 9-2. It was the program’s best record since going undefeated and winning the 1973 state championship.
Hinton was great on defense, but was also a key player on the team’s offense.
Defensively, he was second in the county in tackles per game at 8.9 and led the county in tackles for loss with 20. His 98 total tackles were 25 more than anyone else on the Cougars team. He was the club’s co-leader in sacks and one of the county leaders with 4.5. He caused two fumbles, blocked a punt, a field goal and recovered a fumble.
He had 10 or more tackles in six of 11 games, ending his high school career with a season-high 15 stops against New Palestine in a sectional semifinal game. In two games against the Dragons, the only team to beat the Cougars this past season, he had 25 tackles and two tackles for loss.
If that wasn’t enough, on offense, he scored 12 touchdowns, 10 rushing, two receiving.
He had 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a playoff win against Pendleton Heights and scored three touchdowns — two rushing, one receiving — and had 11 tackles in a Hoosier Heritage Conference victory over Yorktown.
Hinton, a star football player and 4.0 grade-point average student, plans on continuing his academic and athletic career at Army, where, after a year of prep school, he’ll be a linebacker for the Black Knights.
It’s a dream come true for the Greenfield-Central senior, who has always wanted to play football at a high level and do it at a service academy.
In junior high he went to a friend’s graduation party who was heading to Annapolis to go to the Naval Academy. Since then, he’s always had that dream to do the same thing. He has an older brother, Grant, who was a Marine.
“I think I owe it to my country to give back and I think this is a great way to do so,”Hinton said. “I think a lot of my role models have been military guys like David Goggins (retired Navy SEAL and triathlete). (He has been) very influential and had a big impact on me. My brother (Grant) had always talked about joining the Marines through high school and I looked up to him. When he joined the Marines I was very proud of him. After he graduated, I thought this is something I want to do and experience.
“(In) the military, I’ll have so many experiences, the camaraderie, meeting new people, the friendships, the places I’ll see. I’ve only been to Mexico, (I’ll have the opportunity to) go to so many more places. I have always been intrigued (about the academies) and I think it’s one of the most honorable things a person can do, put their life on the line for their country. I think that’s the kind of person I am, the military just suits me.”
Hinton originally committed to Navy, but after also being recruited by Army found he had more opportunities as well as the major (Kinesiology) he was looking for. He also hopes to become an Army Ranger, always wanting to be the best of the best. Along with the service academies, Hinton’s high academic status got him looks from a number of Ivy League schools.
“Being the best of the best is just what I strive for and being the best of the best in the military is being in special forces and an Army Ranger,” Hinton said. “That is something I will try and give 110 percent effort into. I might make it and I might not. As long as I can say I gave it my all that’s all that matters.”
It’s no shock to his coach or opponents that a service academy is the route Hinton is taking.
“It’s pretty cool. You have a situation here where a kid’s lifelong dream is to play big-time collegiate football and he wanted to do it for a service school,” Greenfield-Central football coach Travis Nolting said. “He had the opportunity to play for all three of the service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force). He worked himself into that, the weight room, on the field. He did the extra time of watching film, scouting reports, studying opponents, He’s a once in a generation type of kid. He has all the things you look for as a coach, the work ethic, and the ability is obviously there. A lot of that ability has been helped by the fact he has just had a tremendous work ethic and worked himself into that role.”
Nolting added that Hinton has the leadership qualities he’ll use at the next level, too.
“The leadership is there. He’s one of those guys that’s pushing his teammates. If somebody’s not toeing the line, he’s going to let them know. If they’re not watching their film he’s going to have a conversation with them,” Nolting added. “He cares about the whole unit as a team and knows he can’t do it himself, but he also the type of guy that is not afraid to put himself out front and lead. That’s something that over the last two season has really been prevalent for us. Jake Hinton’s a general on the field for us, the quarterback of the defense.”
New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph has great respect for Hinton. He’s had to prep for the star linebacker, and running back, twice in each of the last two seasons. The teams met both in the regular season and postseason in 2022 and 2023.
“The second game (against Greenfield-Central) it honestly felt like every tackle they had, he made it,” Ralph said. “We were accounting for him heavily on our blocking scheme, but he plays so well with his hands naturally and plays with tremendous effort. It really did. It felt every tackle they made the first drive or two, we had some big plays, but he kept making plays. He’s a great player. I thought he was one of the best linebackers and best overall defensive players we saw all year, period.”
“The way he plays and what (the service academies) stand for, you just feel like that’s a perfect fit.”
Hinton said he’s both excited and anxious about his future at West Point, but he’s never stepped away from a challenge.
He believes Army is getting both a good football player and a good leader of men.
“I think I’m relentless, I’m quick and I think I have a smart (football) IQ compared to other players,” Hinton said, describing what he believes are his best football assets. “I think that allows me to get the edge a lot of time. (I spend) a lot of hours watching film. I think you have to make the selfless play, not always doing what’s best for you but what’s best for the team, that’s what a good leader and good captain will do.”
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2023 All-Hancock County Football Team
The complete list of the All-Hancock County Football Team and the Offensive Player of the Year annoucement and story will be in the Daily Reporter January 3, 2024 print edition. Today’s edition features Defensive Player of the Year Jake Hinton of Greenfield-Central and final statistical leaders.
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2023 Final Hancock County Football Statistical Leaders
PASSING
Name,School;G;C;A;YDS;PCT;Y/G;TD;INT;RAT
Dallas Freeman, Greenfield-Central;11;113;182;1444;.621;131.3;19;8;103.4
Elijah Edon, Eastern Hancock;13;161;256;2077;.629;159.8;17;7;99.0
Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon;7;88;148;1181;.595;168.7;10;3;99.0
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;14;85;154;1469;.552;104.9;14;8;96.5
Tyler Etherington, Mt. Vernon;12;23;56;379;.411;31.6;5;3;71.9
RUSHING
Name, School;G;CAR;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;14;346;2304;6.7;164.6;33
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;12;229;1733;7.6;144.4;21
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;13;249;1746;7.0;134.3;28
Braylen Benavente, Greenfield-Central;8;130;598;4.6;74.8;1
Dallas Freeman, Greenfield-Central;11;115;761;6.6;69.2;8
RECEIVING
Name, School;G;REC;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;11;41;705;17.2;64.1;10
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;12;40;683;17.1;56.9;8
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;14;40;784;19.6;56.0;9
Eli Manship, Eastern Hancock;12;46;605;13.2;50.4;3
Chris Edmonds, Mt. Vernon;10;19;418;22.0;41.8;3
TACKLES
Name, School;G;S;A;T;T/G;TFL
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;13;83;35;118;9.1;2.0
Jake Hinton, Greenfield-Central;11;71;27;98;8.9;20.0
Garrett Ranes, New Palestine;14;74;39;113;8.1;16.5
Gabe Johnson, Eastern Hancock;13;69;31;100;7.7;10.5
Michael Thacker, New Palestine;8;40;20;60;7.5;19.0
SACKS
Name, School;G;S;S/G
Michael Thacker, New Palestine;8;7.0;0.9
Shawn Taylor, Mt. Vernon;12;7.0;0.6
Evan Wheeler, Eastern Hancock;13;6.5;0.5
Zaidyn Ramsey-Fox, Mt. Vernon;11;4.5;0.4
Payton Foley, Greenfield-Central;11;4.5;0.4
Jake Hinton, Greenfield-Central;11;4.5;0.4
INTERCEPTIONS
Name, School;G;I;I/G
Dylan Bowman, Eastern Hancock;11;4;0.4
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;11;4;0.4
Brady Armstrong, New Palestine;11;3;0.3
Mason Hiatt, New Palestine;12;3;0.3
Caden Jacobia, New Palestine;13;3;0.2
Caiden Willis, Eastern Hancock;13;3;0.2
PUNTING
Name, School;P;YDS;AVE
Aaron Redmon, Eastern Hancock;22;796;36.2
Cooper Hinton, Greenfield-Central;6;204;34.0
Jake Wells, New Palestine;30;1003;33.4
John Duncan, Mt. Vernon;36;1090;30.3
Aaron Lee, Greenfield-Central;8;198;24.8
RETURN YARDS
Name, School;K;P;T
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;765;62;827
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;316;158;474
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;314;0;314
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;240;30;270
Cooper Hinton, Greenfield-Central;226;0;226
SCORING
Name, School;G;TD;CONV;S;K;TP;P/G
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;14;33;0;0;0;198;14.1
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;13;28;0;0;0;168;12.9
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;12;22;0;0;0;132;11.0
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;14;20;0;0;0;120;8.6
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;11;13;4;0;0;82;7.5
