Kinkle signs with South Florida

Tray Kinkle is taking his talents to Tampa. The Holly Springs High School senior signed to play football for the University of South Florida.

“This is an outstanding accomplishment for him, and it’s great for our program,” said Clifford Brown, head coach of the Hawks. “This is a prime example of big-time schools coming into small schools and finding talent that can help them at the next level. His speed is tremendous, and you can’t coach speed.”

In addition to an outstanding career on the football field as a running back for Holly Springs, including 1,527 yards and 15 touchdowns his senior season, Kinkle is a star on the track. As a junior, he was a triple-crown winner with state first-place medals in the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes. He also raced to two first-place medals in the state meet as a sophomore.

The highly-recruited Kinkle said he really likes the coaches at South Florida, and that is why he made his choice to suit up for the Bulls.

“They showed a lot of interest in me from the start and stuck with me throughout the recruiting process,” he said.

Kinkle was the District 1-3A Most Valuable Player this past football season, and he will also participate in the state NorthSouth All-Star Game.

South Florida is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Other schools in the conference include Memphis, Army, Tulane, Navy, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, UTSA, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice, Temple, UAB and Tulsa. The Bulls just completed a 6-6 regular season and will play San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu on December 24. The head coach is Alex Golesh.

Kinkle is one of 25 South Florida football signees during the early signing period.