Getting to Know Miami's Star Safety Kamren Kinchens
Kamren Kinchens is a superstar on and off the field, but many people probably do not truly know much about the talented safety away from playing for the Miami Hurricanes. Let’s take a closer look.
Kinchens grew up in Miami where he attended Northwestern High School. The tradition-rich high school football program has been the alma mater of NFL players such as Lavonte David, Amari Cooper, Teddy Bridgewater, Calijah Kancey, and many others. In addition to his football skills for the Bulls, he also pushed to be educated.
Kinchens also took classes at William H. Turner Tech, a top-notch school in Miami. His parents instilled in him the value of education and placed academics above athletics.
That type of commitment to all-around excellence has helped Kinchens become the man he’s become, and he did so in humble ways that allowed him to have a normal life away from football.
As an example, during his time in high school he often spent free time fishing or with his girlfriend, away from negative distractions and temptations. Yes, he won three consecutive state championships with the Bulls, but to get there he made good choices.
On the field for the Bulls Kinchens recorded 9 interceptions and 74 tackles his sophomore year. However, his senior year was halted by the pandemic, so he dedicated himself to perfecting his craft with a different kind of training. This was where his maturity and intelligence helped a great deal.
He would work out and study film in small groups, and began working with former Cane and Super Bowl champion safety Kenny Phillips. Phillips taught him to make better reads, take better angles, the intricacies of film study, and worked on his fundamentals as a safety. The hard work paid off.
The 4-star recruit had numerous competing offers such as Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M, but a close friend and former teammate of his father, Demarucs Van Dyke, was relentless in his recruitment of Kinchens for The U.
The talented safety felt Van Dyke had a strong understanding of who he was and his inner city upbringing that drew him to not only him, but to be a Hurricane. Kinchens also had four high school teammates sporting the orange and green, but he wanted to ensure he would play ball where the best fit was for him. His college choice has worked out well.
Now heading into his junior year at Miami, Kinchens’ impact remains strong. He was Pro Football Focus’s highest graded safety, a first team All-American, and first team All-ACC during his sophomore campaign. Here’s a look at his statistics through the first two years in Coral Gables.
As a freshman, he was Miami’s fourth leading tackler with 44 stops, as well as a tackle for loss and 4 pass breakups. His incredible sophomore campaign included many accomplishments, with Kinchens producing a stat line of 59 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions and 6 pass breakups.
How about a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown, too?
In short, Kinchens was clutch for the Hurricanes. That's a stat that cannot be measured with sheer numbers. That's why it's exciting to think about the 2023 season.
Expect Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry to use him in the deep secondary, as well as in the box, to keep offenses off guard about where Kinchens will be lining up. His intelligence has allowed him to be versatile to date and those responsibilities will help Kinchens produce another big year for the Canes.
For this next season, he is also on the watchlist to be a candidate for the Lott Impact Trophy which is awarded to the defensive player who makes the biggest impact on and off the field. Here’s an example of how Kinchens was dedicated to his community away from the gridiron.
Last year, he delivered Thanksgiving meals, Christmas gifts, and school supplies to underprivileged children. Kinchens was also a part of Miami having received the greatest student-athlete service participation of any Division 1 athletics program last year with 100% participation across teams. They were honored by the NCAA for their efforts.
All of his hard work – either playing football, academically or with the community – has made him a player that’s already earning discussion as a NFL Draft pick. NFL teams want great players, but off the field efforts will be counted into a prospect’s evaluation as well.
In fact, with another strong campaign, Kinchens has a chance to be a first or second round draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Looking at what Kinchens has accomplished, he deserved to be recoginized. The home-grown talent for the Hurricanes still has many goals and milestones to reach, and Hurricanes fans should be proud of him.
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