Miami star defensive back Kam Kinchens is recovering and "in good shape" after he was carted off the field during the Hurricanes' 48-33 win over No. 23 Texas A&M on Saturday. Kinchens, who was released from the hospital on Sunday, is not expected to miss an extended period of time after the scary fourth quarter moment.
"Kam is good. Ran all the tests and all the evaluations and he's in good shape," Miami coach Mario Cristobal told WQAM. "He's going to be well. He's going to be really good. He doesn't have anything that's too serious, he just has some football stuff and he's going to be in great shape."
The Hurricanes were defending Texas A&M on fourth-and-8 with two minutes remaining when Kinchens seemed to carry out a routine hit on Aggies wide receiver Ainias Smith. During the tackle, Kinchens body suddenly grew rigid as his body made contact with Smith. He fell to the ground and did not move before being attended to by Miami trainers.
Kinchens was immobilized on a board by Miami medical trainers and carted off the field. He was awake and talking, according to the ESPN broadcast. The junior was transported to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in South Florida. Before leaving with the injury, Kinchens had a strong game with seven tackles and an interception.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said that everything seemed "to be relatively normal" with Kinchens. "Hard to talk about the game after something like that happens," Crisotbal added. Kinchens also took to Twitter after the game.
"I want to Thank everyone for the prayers, I'm doing better Love Y'all," Kinchens wrote.
I want to Thank everyone for the prayers, I’m doing better Love Y’all 🙌
— Kamren Kinchens⁵ (@KKinchens5) September 10, 2023
Kinchens, a junior from Miami, Florida, ranks among the top players in all of college football. He was named one of five defensive backs on the Preseason CBS Sports All-America team after posting 59 tackles, six interceptions and six passes defended during a sensational sophomore campaign. Kinchens is rated the No. 33 overall prospect and No. 2 safety in the 2024 CBS Sports NFL Draft Prospect Rankings.
