Ed Orgeron wanted to make it clear, so he said it twice: Corey Kiner and former LSU star Clyde Edwards-Helaire are two very different running backs.
But he does see similarities in his freshman running back and the former Tiger now starring on Sundays with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"You know, he steps in the room, he’s a big man," Orgeron said after a win over Central Michigan. "He’s got a great attitude. He comes to work every day, he has a lot of energy just like Clyde did."
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And as LSU heads into Southeastern Conference play still looking for answers in the running game, drawing a comparison to the back that rose from relative obscurity to star on a championship roster is about as loud a ringing endorsement as you can hear from a coach.
With John Emery still fighting to clear up academic issues that have kept him off the field the first three weeks, it's been Kiner who's stepped up to take the lion's share of the carries alongside junior Ty Davis-Price. And, for lack of a better term, he's run with it.
While Davis-Price has had a tough time getting untracked for 72 yards on his 27 carries -- nearly a third of which came on one run against McNeese State -- the same can't be said for Kiner. The 5-10, 213-pound freshman has logged 23 carries since not seeing the field in the opener, and has rumbled for a team-leading 130 yards and two touchdowns. He was particularly effective against the Chippewas and clocked a handful of highlight runs en route to 74 yards on his 12 carries.
One of those runs even included a nifty spin move to make a linebacker miss in the hole before a clear jaunt to the corner for a touchdown. While they might be different runners, it was a flashback to Edwards-Helaire's peak highlight in a win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa two years earlier.
"[An effective run game] gives us an identity," Orgeron said. "You know, he's a strong runner, can break tackles, can run inside, can run outside."
As the coach often says, Kiner has earned his carries and he'll continue to get them. But Orgeron has made clear the committee approach will continue this week, even without Emery. Each of Kiner, Davis-Price, sophomore Josh Williams and electric freshman Armoni Goodwin will be available against Mississippi State on Saturday. Sophomore Tre Bradford remains unavailable due to injury.
"We’re gonna need them all," Orgeron said, adding that all four will likely get snaps this week. "We’ll get into SEC play, we’ll need all those guys to play and play well."
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SEC play is here. Emery is not. But is this the week a lead back steps forward? If No. 21 proves he's that guy, it'll be a departure from the path Edwards-Helaire took to land the lead role. While effective as a rusher, he was stuck behind veterans Derrius Guice and Nick Brossette in his freshman and sophomore seasons before taking the reins in 2019.
And what Orgeron said of Kiner heading into SEC play is almost certainly something the coach said about Clyde many times during his seasons starring in Baton Rouge: "He's got a spark about him."