Miami Football: 3 potential transfer destinations for Lorenzo Lingard

Honorable Mentions

If we take Lorenzo Lingard at his word, he’ll play football in the state of Florida closer to his home town. However, the lure of playing for an elite program might be too much to pass up. He might get his father’s blessing to explore his options outside the sunshine state.

If Lingard does go out of state, here are some possibilities.

With J.K. Dobbins going pro, the Buckeyes are looking for a compliment to Master Teague III. If Lingard decides he’d leave the state of Florida, why not go somewhere you can win a national championship. The Buckeyes do have two talented freshman running backs in addition to Teague. Marcus Crowley and Steele Chambers are both going to fight for carries in a wide open backfield without Dobbins next season. There would be no guarantees for Lingard to start, but if the knee is healthy he should be explosive enough to compete for carries.

Lingard going to Georgia completely depends on what D’Andre Swift decides to do. Swift — who’s still dealing with a shoulder injury — hasn’t officially said if he’s coming back for a final season at Georgia or if he’s leaving for the green pastures of the NFL. If he leaves, Georgia loses it top two rushers with he and senior Brian Herrien would be gone. This would leave the backfield wide open. Lingard would have every opportunity to start if Swift bolts to the NFL and Lingard leaves the state of Florida.

The Gamecocks don’t make this list because they are an elite program. If Lingard wanted to play at a program the level of South Carolina, there’s no need to transfer from Miami. South Carolina makes this list because of Thomas Brown who was Lingard’s primary recruiter when he was part of former Miami head coach Mark Richt’s staff. As far as on the field, the Gamecocks’ top two rushers are seniors, and Lingard would be better than anything they have on their roster.

The Hurricanes get an honorable honorable mention simply because putting your name in the portal doesn’t mean you transfer — it gives teams opportunities to contact you. He might decide to return to the Hurricanes if they don’t give up his scholarship. It’s a faint possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.