With their recruiting in a holding pattern, Hinton and Corpening enjoy Shrine Bowl

Northwestern Shrine Bowlers Miles Corpening and Trae’von Hinton are in similar college football recruiting situations. They’re waiting.

The duo were integral parts of the Trojans’ stingy state championship-winning defense. Corpening – a safety – and Hinton – a defensive end – were plenty big enough for James Martin’s defense, but both are on the smallish side for top-level college football meaning they’ll likely play different positions at the next level. Depending on where he ends up, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Corpening will probably play cornerback.

“Just by size,” said Martin. “Depending on where he goes he could still play safety, but at corner, he’d be a nice fit there.”

And Hinton, who has offers from Gardner-Webb, Charlotte, Appalachian State, Towson and Marshall, will probably play linebacker in college. Saturday, he’ll give defensive end one more go, though he would have preferred a chance to play linebacker.

“I know that’s what he wanted,” said Martin, “but no, I think he needs to be at d-end. He’s where he needs to be.”

Sandlappers defensive backs coach Bill Boroff said the South Carolina squad has three run-pluggers and three linemen who are better off the edge – Hinton’s group – “so those guys are gonna work kind of independently.”

Hinton’s forte is pass-rushing – he had 8.5 sacks this season – but he’s a capable run defender owing to his speed. The fact he led the Trojans defense in tackles (113) this season is evidence.

“He’s outside and all of the sudden he sees zone inside and he’s very fast to redirect and get down inside to make tackles,” said Martin. “It’s surprising sometimes to think, ‘who made that tackle?’ And it’s Trae’von. It’s nice to see his speed like that.”

Working against the Sandlappers’ big offensive line, Hinton has been on his back this week probably more than the entire season. But it hasn’t fazed his confidence.

“Them boys are big,” he said. “Our side, the South Carolina side, they’re better than the North Carolina side. I’m gonna get past the North Carolina side.”

Had he not moved to Rock Hill, Corpening could have been on the North Carolina side Saturday. Boroff liked that Corpening, and South Pointe’s Chris Smith, had played against numerous spread offense teams, meaning they had seen pretty much everything they could possibly see Saturday against North Carolina.

“The first thing that got me was his film from Vance, his junior year,” said Boroff, as he piled the team’s playbook armbands into a bag. “That was what brought him to the top of the table in terms of some things. And then with Kyle playing him a lot more at safety this year, it kind of matched up with what I wanted to do.”

Like Martin, Boroff thinks Corpening will probably play cornerback in college, but he compared him to a current NFL player.

“What was the guy? Honeybadger,” said Boroff, citing Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. “It fits what I’m doing, but probably on the next level they’d probably gonna look at him more outside.”

Corpening – who runs a 4.44 40-yard dash – played corner at Vance, but needed a new scene for his senior year. As he returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown in last week’s 4A Division II state championship win, it was hard to argue the move.

“Yes sir, it was a great choice, a great decision,” said Corpening. “It worked out for me because I moved to a different position, got new coaching, I think they definitely improved my play and made me a better person, as well as a better player. This new experience added knowledge to my game and made football fun again. I wasn’t dealing with too much negativity; everything was just about winning.”

Corpening has an offer from Army, but he’d love to hear from UNC, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Duke or Northwestern. Like Hinton, Corpening will have to wait and see what happens with those schools’ first tier recruits before finding his final landing spot.

“I’m kind of just waiting until January to see who else comes around,” he said.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "With their recruiting in a holding pattern, Hinton and Corpening enjoy Shrine Bowl."