He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as a quarterback and wide receiver and signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

In doing so, Hinton became the first non-professional quarterback to play significant snaps at the position in an NFL game since running back Tom Matte with the Baltimore Colts in 1965.

[1] Rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals, Hinton committed to play college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on June 11, 2014.

[3] Against Army on September 19, Hinton replaced injured starting quarterback John Wolford in the first quarter of the game, and led the Demon Deacons to a 24–21 win by passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

[13] In his redshirt senior season, Hinton transitioned to playing slot receiver full-time, racking up 73 receptions for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns.

[20][21][22] He subsequently completed only a single 13-yard pass to tight end Noah Fant out of nine attempts, while also recording two interceptions as the Broncos lost 31–3.

[30][31] He was promoted to the active roster on September 17 for the Broncos' Week 2 game against the Houston Texans, in which he caught one pass for 20 yards en route to a 16–9 win.