Ranking the Contenders: Corey Kiner
Last month, Cincinnati Roger Bacon running back Corey Kiner had settled on a July 4 commitment date, even if that meant he would not be able to see those schools in his top group that he had not previously visited.
Then, earlier this week, Kiner announced he was accelerating that timetable and would be announcing his decision Monday, May 11. Officially, Kiner has a top ten, but there are only three schools I see as reasonable selections for the four-star back with his commitment now moved up to next week.
MORE RANKING THE CONTENDERS: Isaiah Brevard | Leonard Taylor | Aaron Armitage | Marcus Burris | Brock Bowers | JD Coffey | Katron Evans | Kelvin Gilliam | Julien Simon | Bram Walden
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
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LSU
The Tigers extended an offer to Kiner in December, right in the midst of the run to the national championship with a team featuring a back in Clyde Edwards-Helaire who runs similar to Kiner. The biggest hurdle for LSU here is that the window between offer and commitment date was mostly consumed by dead periods and Kiner was never able to visit Baton Rouge. With the complexity and intricacy of virtual visits, though, we are seeing prospects across the country commit to programs they have never visited. Kiner says he moved his commitment date up because he feels comfortable with “a certain team.” I expect that certain team to be LSU when the four-star announces his decision on Monday.
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LOUISVILLE
When I started considering this feature two weeks ago, Louisville was the school I had planned to list in the top position. Over the previous two months Kiner has talked to me more about the Cardinals than any other school on his list, telling me last month that Scott Satterfield and his staff are recruiting him on a “whole other level” than the other schools in his top group. An official visit had been scheduled with Louisville for the final weekend in May before the NCAA instituted the current dead period, but Kiner has visited the school previously. He is comfortable there and also sees a fit for his skill set in the offense Louisville runs.
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CINCINNATI
Cincinnati is a Group of Five school, but it recruits like a Power Five program, especially for prospects in its own backyard. Already this cycle, Luke Fickell has landed commitments from five players from Cincinnati, several of whom know Kiner well and are undoubtedly encouraging him to stay at home. The Bearcats signed a pair of four-stars from Cincinnati in the 2020 class, so they have the chops to go toe-to-toe with top schools and pull out a win when it comes to hometown talent.