Northwestern safety Kamren Kinchens commits to Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes’ pipeline from Miami Northwestern keeps flowing. Kamren Kinchens is the latest Northwestern player to commit to the Hurricanes.
Kinchens orally committed to Miami on Saturday, announcing his commitment with a post on Instagram. He joins four teammates who have already committed to the Hurricanes’ Class of 2021.
“Why put on for someone else when you can put on for your city?” Kinchens said on social media.
Kinchens --- rated the eighth best safety by Rivals in the 2021 class and 168th best player overall --- is the fifth Northwestern player to join the Hurricanes’ 2021 recruiting class, following four-star wide receiver Romello Brinson, three-star tight end Kahlil Brantley, three-star outside linebacker Ja’Corey Hammett and three-star cornerback Tim Burns Jr. Last year, the Bulls won a third straight state championship.
Kinchens picked the Hurricanes from a top group which also included the Texas A&M Aggies and Auburn Tigers. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound defensive back first landed a scholarship offer from the hometown school last year and has been a frequent visitor ever since, attending camps in Coral Gables and games at Hard Rock Stadium.
He most recently was on campus in January for a junior day and followed up the visit with a trip to Auburn in March. A few days later, the COVID-19 pandemic chased students off campus and triggered an extended dead period, which will now run through the end of July.
With a typically busy visit period period washed away, Miami has been able to build a top-10 class by securing local commitments. Kinchens is the eighth player to commit to the Hurricanes since the dead period began in March and all but one either lives or used to live in South Florida.
Kinchens, who has been one of the top defensive players in Miami-Dade County for years, is the latest to follow the trend. A top-300 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2021 class, Kinchens was a third-team all-county selection by the Miami Herald as a sophomore and followed it up in 2019 by earning a first-team all-county nod.
In three years with the Bulls, Kinchens has won three state championships and Northwestern’s defense is almost always its driving force. Last year, the Bulls posted five shutouts and allowed just 12.4 points per game. Kinchens piled up 74 tackles, three tackles for loss and nine interceptions. He also returned a punt for a touchdown.
Kinchens is the 16th member of the Hurricanes’ class, which now ranks No. 9 nationally and third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He’s the first safety in the class and the third defensive back, joining Burns and three-star athlete Malik Curtis, who is being recruited as a corner.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 12:08 PM.
