LSU Tigers' running back Corey Kiner transfers to Cincinnati Bearcats

Corey Kiner joins a long list of LSU players to enter college football's transfer portal.

Hours after announcing he entered the college football transfer portal, former LSU running back Corey Kiner committed to the Cincinnati Bearcats.

"Cincinnati since my mama had me," Kiner said in a post. "I'm coming home."

Kiner was the No. 9 ranked running back in the 2021 recruiting class, and placed second on the LSU team in rushing yards as a freshman last season.

Kiner ran for 324 yards and two touchdowns with 79 attempts, catching two additional passes for 10 yards as LSU went 6-7 in Ed Orgeron's final season.

A former 4-star recruit from Cincinnati, the player originally pledged to LSU despite not visiting the campus in person because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Kiner now joins a long list of players who elected to transfer out of LSU as Brian Kelly takes over the head coaching position ahead of the 2022 football season.

Chief among those departures was 2021 starting quarterback Max Johnson, who moved onto Texas A&M, and star cornerback Eli Ricks, who transferred to Alabama.

LSU also scored a few notable transfer players, including former Penn State running back Noah Cain, who rushed for 350 yards a year ago.

Kiner thanks LSU

"I want to start off by saying that I really do appreciate the opportunity that I had to come develop myself academically and athletically at LSU," Kiner said in a statement.

"I am so grateful for all the friendships and bonds that have been created during my time here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Thank you to all the staff members who I have encountered athletically and academically, you have helped me take a step forward in my life.

"My time as a Tiger has come to an end, I would like to start a new chapter in my life and explore my options to continue my career as a student-athlete elsewhere... with that being said I would like to announce that I have placed my name in the NCAA transfer portal."

NCAA transfer portal

The NCAA created the transfer portal on Oct. 15, 2018. That decision has helped transform the game of college football by giving players an easier opportunity to change teams and direct their playing careers.

Players no longer require permission from their coaches in order to transfer. They just have to request that their school’s compliance department enter their name into the portal.

Names appear in the transfer portal in one or two days, and schools are free to contact transferring players without restriction thereafter.

Players that enter their name into the transfer portal don’t necessarily leave their schools. A player is free to take his name out of the portal at any time. But schools are not under an obligation to keep transferring players on scholarship once they put their names into the portal.

(h/t Corey Kiner on Twitter)

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