Lingard to transfer from Hurricanes

Miami sophomore running back Lorenzo Lingard’s time with the Hurricanes is done. The former five-star recruit is transferring out of UM, a Miami spokesperson confirmed.

Matt Zenitz of AL.com tweeted on Monday morning that Lingard is entering the NCAA’s transfer portal.

It was a move that had been widely speculated for Lingard. He worked his way back this season, recovering from a knee injury that cut short his freshman season at Miami. However, Lingard failed to earn playing time upon his return.

Miami coach Manny Diaz said at midseason that Lingard did not come back running the same way he did before the injury, and the two sides had mutually agreed to redshirt him this season to retain a year of eligibility.

Even as the Hurricanes were set to keep Lingard under the four-game quota to be able to redshirt, he did not see playing time late in the season, including Thursday’s 14-0 Independence Bowl loss to Louisiana Tech.

Lingard played in two games this season without carrying the football once. He entered the Oct. 5 loss to Virginia Tech on special teams and got in briefly on offense in the regular season finale at Duke but did not receive a touch.

Lingard was the nation’s No. 2 running back recruit in the 2018 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, when he came out of Orange City University. As a freshman, he carried 17 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

Lingard will be the second back the Hurricanes lose this offseason after junior DeeJay Dallas declared early for the NFL draft. Miami returns sophomore Cam’Ron Harris and redshirt sophomore Robert Burns in the backfield.