Former Chippewa defensive back Kyron McKinnie-Harper enters transfer portal
Central Michigan defensive back Kyron McKinnie-Harper breaks up a potential Eastern Michigan touchdown Oct. 5 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Former Central Michigan defensive back Kyron McKinnie-Harper entered the transfer portal Jan. 15.
Tony Paul of The Detroit News first reported McKinnie-Harper’s intent to transfer.
McKinnie-Harper last played in 2019 and was not enrolled at CMU in the 2020 fall semester. He was arrested Sept. 17, 2020 and briefly lodged in Isabella County Jail after being charged with one count of using a computer to commit a crime.
McKinnie-Harper was granted Holmes Youth Trainee Act (HYTA) status, meaning further details of the case are available.
HYTA status is available to offenders aged 17-24 years old. When granted HYTA, offenders enter a guilty plea, are designated "youthful trainee status" and must successfully complete the terms of their probation. If successful, the offense is removed from the offender's criminal record. All court records of the case are sealed.
A warrant was originally issued for McKinnie-Harper's arrest on Feb. 13, 2020. When the warrant was processed, he faced one count of using a computer to commit a crime, one count of unauthorized computer access, one count of computer fraud and three counts of larceny by conversion.
The charges stem from accusations that McKinnie-Harper used four student accounts separate from his own to buy $5,999 in iPhones from CONNECT CMU. Five of those charges were dropped.
In 2019, his lone season with the Chippewas, McKinnie-Harper played in 11 games and started nine. He made 36 total tackles, 25 of which were solo, and broke up 10 passes.
Coming out of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, McKinnie-Harper was a 3-star recruit with a .8276 composite score on 247Sports. He was the fourth-highest rated recruit in the Chippewas' 2019 class, behind his high school teammate Lew Nichols, Garden City Community College quarterback David Moore and Haines City, Florida offensive lineman Cameron Vaughn.
McKinnie-Harper is the second Chippewa to enter the transfer portal in as many days. On Jan. 14, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Romello Tarver entered the portal. McKinnie-Harper will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
