Kinchens Emerging as Leader for Hurricanes, Looking Forward to Next Season

Miami's star safety spoke to the rest of the team after UM's loss to Pittsburgh.

While Miami's 2022 season was underwhelming, there were a few positives from the year, including the blossoming of sophomore safety Kamren Kinchens.

The South Florida native finished with six interceptions, which is tied for first in all of college football. Kinchens also totaled 59 tackles and five pass deflections.

In addition to his on-field performance, Kinchens also took on a leadership role this season and spoke to the rest of the team following the Hurricanes' 42-16 loss to Pittsburgh in their season finale.

"Kam was the only one who spoke up. That's what a leader is supposed to do. He's supposed to lead his team," Ivey said to reporters after the game. "He's going to be the captain next year, and I feel like he did the right thing."

His message to the team was brief but blunt.

"If you don’t want to be here, farewell, good wishes to you, hope for the best," Kinchens said when asked what his post-game message was. "But if you want to stay, come every day ready to grind because we don’t want this taste in our mouth again.”

Multiple Hurricanes have already announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal, including defensive backs Keshawn Washington, Jalen Harrell and Gilbert Frierson, with more expected to follow. 

Kinchens, who will be entering a crucial third season at Miami, already has his sights set on next year.

"Tommorow we wake up and grind. We want a national championship so that's how we're going to work tomorrow. We lost the day, season's over with, time to work for the next one," Kinchens said. "If I'm by myself, I'm by myself. If it's teammates with me, we're there grinding."

"When we coming back in Janurary, when it's full throttle, it's full throttle."

For Miami, it now has a long offseason to rectify the many mistakes of its 5-7 campaign in 2022.

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