Burns finds transfer destination in UConn
Former Miami Hurricanes running back Robert Burns announced his intention to transfer to Connecticut on Friday.
“I’m so thankful for my experiences as a student-Athlete at @CanesFootball,” Burns tweeted. “It’s been a hell of a ride. That being said, I’m excited to announce that I am now a member of the @uconnfootball family! Can’t wait to get to work with my new teammates!”
Burns first entered the NCAA’s transfer portal on Jan. 27, the same day reports surfaced that former UM quarterback Tate
Martell had also done the same.
Burns remains a redshirt junior with two college football seasons of eligibility at UConn, a Division-I F BS independent, after the 2020 fall season did not count against players due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Burns spent the 2020 season as the Hurricanes’ fourth running back behind junior Cam’Ron Harris and freshmen Donald Chaney J. and Jaylan Knighton. The Miami Gulliver product ran for 63 yards on 16 carries in 2020 and 193 yards on 47 attempts over three seasons.
Harris, Knighton and Chaney are returning to UM in 2021, and Miami is also bringing in four-star recruits in Thad Franklin out of
Chaminade-Madonna and Georgia-based Cody Brown after his release from a national letter of intent signed with Tennessee.
Harris is the returning starter, but Knighton has elevated himself in the spring, starting the April 17 spring game and scoring a touchdown in the scrimmage. Chaney is recovering from shoulder surgery and won’t be expected to be cleared until around the time of the Sept. 4 opener against Alabama in Atlanta.
Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has said he’s looking for a lead back to get 20-plus touches a game in 2021, instead of splitting them as much as he did in 2020.