Tag: Corey Kiner

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win in Week 4 vs. the Cincinnati Bearcats

From run defense to passing offense, here are the keys to a Sooner victory vs. the Bearcats.

The Oklahoma Sooners are headed to Cincinnati, Ohio for their one and only meeting as conference foes against the Bearcats. The Sooners are 2-0 against all-time and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was a part of both wins.

This will be their first trip to Nippert Stadium. The 2010 game was played at Paul Brown Stadium, now Paycor Stadium, which is the home of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Sooners will have their work cut out for them as the Bearcats are fresh off an overtime upset loss to in-state rival the Miami (OH) Redhawks.

The Bearcats would love nothing more than to play spoiler to the Sooners’ undefeated season, and they have the players to do that. For the Sooners, they want to right the wrongs of a season ago, losing their first three conference games.

So, without further adieu, let’s take a look at what needs to take place for the Oklahoma Sooners to leave Ohio with a win.

5 players to watch for the Oklahoma Sooners and the Cincinnati Bearcats

There will be plenty of talent on the field for the Sooners and the Bearcats but here are the five who will make the biggest impact.

[autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play is finally here for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners went 3-0 in nonconference play for the second year in a row under Brent Venables.

But if people remember last season, this is when the wheels fell off. The Sooners went on to win three games the rest of the way and started the conference slate with a three-game losing streak.

This year feels different for the Sooners, but you can’t help but see some similarities in this game vs. the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] and last season vs. the [autotag]Kansas State Wildcats[/autotag]. The Wildcats were coming off of a loss to a Group of Five team. The Bearcats are coming off a loss to a Group of Five team.

Kansas State’s strength was their play in the trenches. Cincinnati’s strength is their play in the trenches. Kansas State brought in a running quarterback. Cincinnati brings in a running quarterback.

There are a lot of similarities in this game, but on paper, Cincinnati isn’t nearly as talented as that Kansas State team. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have any talent.

Let’s take a look at five players to watch for both teams for this Week 4 game.

Tracking how every LSU transfer fared in 2022

Here’s how LSU transfers fared around the country in 2022.

The modern era of college football is full of transfers.

Most big programs are going to see several come and go each year, and LSU has been no exception. Considering the Tigers just went through a coaching transition, they might even have lost more than your average team.

We saw a few transfers go on to have major success this year, such as [autotag]Trey Palmer[/autotag] at Nebraska. Here is a look at how LSU transfers fared in 2022. These aren’t just guys that left last year, but anyone that left the program in the last few years and saw action this fall.

At the end, we’ll look at the takeaways and evaluate who LSU is probably wishing it kept and who just needed to go their separate ways.

How LSU transfers fared at their new schools in Week 1

From Arik Gilbert to Eli Ricks, here’s how former Tigers fared in Week 1.

LSU was busy in the transfer portal this offseason.

Much of that was because it lost quite a few guys, too. Throughout the coaching transition, there was a steady trickle of players leaving. That’s just how it goes when a new coach takes over.

Some of the losses hurt more than others, like [autotag]Eli Ricks[/autotag] and [autotag]Dwight McGlothern[/autotag]. There were some hits that LSU should have no trouble absorbing, like the loss of [autotag]Trey Palmer[/autotag], who left a crowded wide receiver room.

Not all of these transfers are from this cycle. There are guys like [autotag]Chris Curry[/autotag], now with Utah, who saw a steady dose of action on Saturday. Let’s take a look at how some former LSU players fared in their new uniforms.

Should we be concerned about LSU’s running backs?

LSU’s running backs have something to prove as they enter 2022.

[autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] did not play a game in 2021 due to eligibility issues. According to [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], his eligibility for the season opener remains in question.

Kelly added that he couldn’t get into it, but did expect Emery to contribute to the team this year.

Emery, a former five-star, is now entering his fourth year as a Tiger. This has been billed as his breakout year. If he were to miss some time, a wrench could be thrown into some of those plans. A running back room that already has something to prove would have even more questions.

[autotag]Corey Kiner[/autotag] transferred to Cincinnati in the spring, and [autotag]Tre Bradford[/autotag] is no longer on the roster.

If Emery is out against Florida State, LSU would enter the game with [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag].

Cain and Goodwin would get the bulk of the touches, but what do we know about them?

In 2019, Cain was one of the best freshman backs in the country. He got hurt in 2020 and struggled in 2021. Reports from camp have spoken highly of Cain, but we’ll need to see it on the field first to believe he’s back to the player he was in 2019.

Goodwin was a top 100 recruit. He has the talent to be a star. He can make people miss on the outside and run between the tackles. He’s a decent receiver, too. He dealt with injuries in 2021 and never really got a chance to prove himself. He’s now a sophomore, but we still don’t really know who he is.

Even with Emery healthy, it looks like LSU will take more of a committee approach. Kelly said they don’t have that pure feature back on the roster right now.

If you wanted to read into that, you could say that Kelly doesn’t see any one of these guys as a game-changing star. If there were a true difference maker on the roster like that, he would have emerged as the feature back.

I still believe that over the course of the year, we will see one of these guys take the reigns. Emery, Cain, and Goodwin are all too talented for at least one to not break out.

A committee approach would be fine, too. Each one of these backs is different and they all serve a different purpose on this offense.

Kelly and OC [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] have built a lot of their offenses around the run game over the years. They’ll likely want to try and do that again this year.

For that to work, the questions we have about this room need to be answered soon. The talent is there and there are reasons for optimism, but it’s one of the areas worth watching when LSU takes the field against Florida State.

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John Emery Jr.’s status unclear entering season after cryptic comments from Brian Kelly

Kelly declined to comment on Emery’s availability entering the season.

Though much has been made about LSU’s quarterback competition, the ground game is really where the team needs to improve the most on offense this fall.

Last year, the team ranked second to last in the SEC in rushing with just over 109 yards per game, finishing ahead of only Mississippi State, which runs the air raid. That won’t cut it in 2022, and after leading rusher Ty Davis-Price’s departure for the NFL, it’s a fair area of concern.

LSU is hoping to have a piece it didn’t have access to last time around in [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], a former five-star recruit who missed all of last season due to academic ineligibility.

Emery was expected to return this fall, but after coach Brian Kelly’s press conference on Saturday, that has been called into question.

“There’s obviously things that I can’t talk about,” Kelly said. “He’s in good standing in football. So everything that he’s done, he’s done a great job with us in football.”

Asked specifically about Emery’s status entering the season, Kelly once again deflected.

“Everything that he’s done for us has been outstanding in football,” he said. “Anything else that arises would not be anything that I can comment on because of privacy rights, so I think you guys can put the rest together.”

Emery was a solid contributor during his first two seasons, reaching 378 yards and three touchdowns during his last available season as a sophomore in 2020. His presence became even more important after [autotag]Corey Kiner[/autotag] transferred to Cincinnati.

However, it remains unclear whether he will join the Tigers when they take the field against Florida State on Sept. 4, and if he isn’t available, LSU will likely rely on Penn State transfer [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], as well as players like [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] to carry the running game.

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Former LSU running back Corey Kiner announces transfer portal destination

Kiner will return to his hometown to play for Cincinnati.

Well, that didn’t take long.

After less than one day in the transfer portal, former LSU running back Corey Kiner has found a new home — and it’s pretty close to his old one. He is heading back to his hometown to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Kiner, who played at Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati, will join Luke Fickell’s squad, which is coming off an appearance as the first-ever Group of Five team to make the College Football Playoff.

Kiner joins the Bearcats with three remaining years of eligibility. He announced his transfer decision via his Twitter account on Monday afternoon.

Kiner, a former four-star recruit, finished as LSU’s second-leading rusher with 324 yards on 79 carries in 2021. He could’ve been poised for a bigger role with [autotag]Ty Davis-Price[/autotag] moving on, but the Tigers also return [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], who was academically ineligible for the 2021 season.

With Kiner gone, LSU will likely rely primarily on Emery in addition to sophomore [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag].

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LSU running back enters the transfer portal

Corey Kiner was the Tigers’ second-leading rusher in 2021 as a true freshman.

After the initial rush of transfers following the conclusion of the regular season, a second wave usually follows during and after spring practice as the depth chart begins to take shape and some players find themselves on the outs.

The latest example of that for LSU came from running back [autotag]Corey Kiner[/autotag], who announced on Monday morning that he will be entering the transfer portal.

“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-athelte elsewhere,” Kiner said in a Twitter post. “with this being said I would like to announce that I have placed my name in the NCAA transfer portal.”

Kiner, a former four-star recruit in the 2021 class, finished as LSU’s second-leading rusher as a true freshman with 324 yards and two touchdowns on 79 carries. With rushing leader [autotag]Ty Davis-Price[/autotag] heading to the NFL, Kiner would have likely seen a bigger role as a sophomore.

However, there will be a lot of competition for carries this fall. [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] is back from academic ineligibility, and LSU has another talented sophomore back in [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag].

Kiner’s loss hurts, especially for a team with no proven commodities at running back. The Tigers will hope Emery’s long-awaited return is as impactful as fans have hoped it would be.

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Running back John Emery back with LSU heading into spring camp

Emery was academically ineligible in 2021, but he’s back with the team and is working hard, according to the coaching staff.

LSU running back John Emery is back with the team and training hard, according to running back coach Frank Wilson. Emery missed all of last season after being ruled academically ineligible.

“He’s healthy; he’s practicing and improving,” Wilson said on Thursday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Glen West.

The running back tried to get multiple waivers to allow him to play last season, but he was denied every time. Emery was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.

As a freshman in 2019, Emery for 188 yards on 39 carries, he also had four rushing touchdowns. The following year, his numbers went up a little bit. He rushed for 378 yards on five yards per carry. Emery also caught 14 passes for 73 yards.

He was on track for an outstanding junior season but was deemed ineligible. Now, he should be ready to produce in the field for next season. In his two seasons at LSU, Emery showed the ability to be explosive between the tackles. In addition, he can also catch the ball out of the backfield, making him a possibly three-down running back.

Emery will join Penn State transfer Noah Cain, sophomores Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin. Both players played well as freshmen and turned heads. With Emery back in the running back room, it gives LSU some added depth and experience.

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Here’s how LSU’s running back situation shapes up heading into 2022 and beyond

The Tigers have a lot of budding talent at the position, but much of the group remains unproven heading into 2022.

When Brian Kelly initially took the job at LSU, perhaps his most daunting task was to rebuild the roster.

That’s what this is, after all: a rebuild. Building takes time, it was clear the roster wouldn’t turn around overnight.

In a short time, Kelly and staff have done a good job of steering the ship in the right direction. LSU has been active in the transfer portal and has done what it can do on the high school trail.

With all the movement that has gone on, it was easy to miss some things. The roster looks wildly different now than it did in November.

Now that signing day is in the books, we have some time to take a look at how this team is positioned heading into 2022 and the future.

The Tigers look good at some positions such as defensive line and quarterback. There are also position groups that are trending up, such as linebacker and safety. Some question marks remain, though, like cornerback and offensive line.

The pandemic combined with the new transfer rules has presented challenges to managing a roster over the last couple of years, which often involves planning years in advance. Recent turbulence in the sport has forced coaches to adjust.

Here, we’ll focus on the outlook for the running game for the near future.