Kam Kinchens raves over Miami's talent throughout defense

The Miami Hurricanes star safety Kam Kinchens enters 2023 on the radar of a ton of pro scouts. The Hurricanes’ defensive star is likely on his way to the NFL following the 2023 season. But first, Miami has some unfinished business to attend to following a rough 2022 campaign.

Miami is looking to bounce back from their 5-7 finish from last season, and many expect Kinchens to play a prominent role in their success both on and off the field. Over the offseason, the Hurricanes’ safety has been monitoring the defense, ensuring they are working together as a cohesive unit. Recently, he gave his thoughts on the strengths of the Miami defense, along with whether there are any questions that still need to be answered as they head into fall camp.

“The first thing, our front seven. Those are some dogs. Especially the front — the transfer with Kiko,” said Kinchens. “Then you have Corey Flagg and Wesley. Those guys coming back with some experience under their belt, and then you got Akheem, you got Rueben, you got Nyjalik, Jahfari, L.T. You got Branson. We loaded down there. Then Jared coming back off of injury. I think that’s the best group we have on our defense.

“Not to take nothing behind the secondary. You know, we got Devonte Brown come coming in as a transfer, Daryl Porter. You got me and James back there. Arguably the best safety duo. Got some things going on for us.”

The Hurricanes could very well have the best safety duo in the ACC in quite possibly of all of college football. In May, PFF ranked Kinchens as the second-best returning safety prospect in 2023. And his backfield running mate James Williams was fourth on the list.

Cristobal explains how to translate having a talented roster into success

The Hurricanes have some serious talent on their roster heading into the 2023 season. So much so, multiple Hurricane players are projected to go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, with one projection suggesting that four will be taken on the first night of the NFL Draft.

With all this talent comes huge expectations. So, how is Miami head coach Mario Cristobal planning on using all that talent for a successful 2023 season? According to the Hurricanes’ headman, he has a plan for his program to be successful next season. Still, he’s not worried about mock drafts or any other outside noise.

“I think it always starts and ends with personnel. So, you know, we don’t pay much attention to the mock draft stuff, but we also at the same time make sure that any type of publicity and brand enhancement that we can have for our players, we emphasize,” said Cristobal.

“That’s important. So there’s no question that we do have some really talented young men that are really hard, and we are surrounding them with more and more and more. When Miami looks a certain way, the locker room is littered with that caliber of player and person.”