Ed Orgeron praises Corey Kiner's emergence

Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers’ rushing attack looked bleak, at best, in the past few weeks, but with the emergence of Corey Kiner, Orgeron may have found his latest multi-purpose back.

The day before the season opener, Orgeron said that running back John Emery Jr. — one of the potential big-impact players in LSU’s offense — had been ruled academically ineligible. Ten days later, Orgeron confirmed Emery will miss the rest of the season because of academic ineligibility. Although Emery is still fighting for reconsideration, his loss was just the latest blow to LSU’s rushing attack, which struggled behind Tyrion Davis-Price.

LSU also added transfer Kevontre Bradford in the offseason, a former LSU running back that transferred to Oklahoma but returned after a few-month stint. The emergence of Kiner means that Orgeron has a consistent, three-down back at his disposal.

“It gives us an identity,” Orgeron said of Kiner’s emergence. “He is a strong runner and can break tackles. He can run inside and run outside. He’s got a spark about him.”

Kiner, a 5-foot-10, 213-pound freshman running back out of Cincinnati, Ohio made his 2021 debut against McNeese State. He rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, with a long of 23 yards, then followed it up with a commendable performance this weekend in LSU’s 49-21 rout of Central Michigan University. Kiner on Saturday took 12 rushes for 74 yards, a touchdown and a long of 26 yards.

“He reminds me — and I am not even saying as a player, but as a person — he reminds me of Clyde [Edwards-Helaire],” Orgeron said, likening Kiner to the 2019 first-team All-SEC running back for LSU. “He’s a big man, he’s got a great attitude, he comes to work every day and has a lot of energy; just like Clyde did. I am not saying he’s the same back or trying to compare him to Clyde, but as the same person. And we get Armoni Goodwin back. Armoni can run the football, along with Ty. And Josh. We need them all. We get into SEC play, we need all those guys to play and play well.”

LSU, Orgeron and Kiner will have their hands full trying to piece together the rushing offense moving forward, as LSU has yet to establish a reliable rush option with SEC play looming. Kiner leads all LSU backs with a meager 23 carries for a cumulative 130 yards, while Davis-Price has the second-most with 72 yards on 27 carries.