Cooper Hinson and grandparents Pat and Larry Hinson. Brian Wilhite, photo

By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — Cooper Hinson isn’t likely to break records for the Wingate University football team, but there’s no doubt he’s going to be an asset for the Division II program.

Hinson is one of six Cougars in the Class for 2024 getting a chance to play college football.

“Cooper is really smart, on the field and off it,” Carson head coach Jonathan Lowe said. “He was that kid you could count on to play any receiver spot. He was also that kid you could call during the summer when you needed someone to help line and paint the field. Just a great young man all-around.”

It would be hard to find anyone who loves football more or works at it harder than Hinson, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver who has made himself into a player and keeps getting better every year.

‘I’ve got a passion for the game,” said Hinson, who has a 3.9 GPA. “I love every minute on the football field.”

Hinson grew up with baseball as his primary sport, but that mindset changed at China Grove Middle School, where he started bonding with Lowe, who was coaching at CGMS then, and with quarterback Michael Guiton.

“That’s when football became the main sport for me,” Hinson said. “I started setting some goals.”

Hinson was never the biggest guy in the huddle nor the quickest. He runs 4.7 40s, which means he’s a lot faster than most people, but he’s not a prototype blazing wideout.

Still, Hinson’s hands, work ethic and determination at a summer camp caught the eye of Wingate receivers coach Shaedon Meadows, who had been a standout at Appalachian State. They hit it off, and Meadows stayed in contact with Hinson after that camp and began the recruiting process.

“Wingate invited me down for a game day visit, and that led to an offer,” Hinson said. “Coach Meadows isn’t there now (he was hired by Mercer University), but I appreciate him believing in me.”

Hinson paid his dues on the Carson jayvees.

As a junior, he made a handful of catches for the varsity. But he made a serious jump between his junior and senior seasons.

“I got bigger, got faster during the summer,” Hinson said. “Lots of drills to improve my agility and hand-to-eye coordination. I progressed a lot as a route runner. My routes were sharper as a senior and I was able to get deeper.”

Hinson’s senior stats were still modest for a Division II recruit — 16 catches for 186 yards — but Carson lost Guiton to an injury and relied heavily on the legs of Jay McGruder, as young QB Griffin Barber adjusted to the speed of the varsity game.

Hinson caught three passes from Barber in the win against South Rowan. All three moved the chains for the Cougars.

“I had a couple of important catches against Concord in what I think was our best win of the year,” Hinson said. “We lost the Central Cabarrus game, but I had my deepest catch of the year in that game (40 yards) and another catch for 10 yards.”

Hinson does a lot for Carson athletics.

He recently finished swimming season. as a more than respectable first-year competitor. He placed fifth and seventh with PRs in his two individual events in the Rowan County Championships and was on a third-place relay team.

Now he’s on golf courses a couple of times a week, helping the Cougars be competitive in that sport.

But he still finds time for weights and football workouts. He’s smart enough to realize it’s going to be a jump to Division II football.

He plans to major in exercise science.

Whatever happens in college, he’ll never forget Signing Day at Carson.

He was on center stage with studs such as 6-foot-3, 270-pound Mars Hill signee Tristen McBride, the South Piedmont Conference Lineman of the Year, and it was a reminder that hard work really does pay off.

“It was nice to look around the room and see eyes lighting up,” Hinson said.