Howard's football program seems to be self destructing
I don't know why Cam's little brother thinks he's still got a chance at the NFL unless I'm missing something
Why are Newton and others Transferring from Howard?
WHY ARE NEWTON AND OTHERS TRANSFERRING FROM HOWARD?
FOOTBALL
Well, it’s official. Caylin Newton has announced that he will be leaving Howard. And it seems as though he is not alone. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least for players -- sophomore defensive back John Smith VI, sophomore running back Khalid Dorsey, sophomore linebacker Iggy Reynoso and Newton – announced on Twitter that they will be leaving the program.
Newton, who will be graduating from Howard in May, wrote:
"After speaking with my family and some of the greats who have played at this prestigious university, they have all contributed to giving me the clarity and guidance to make the decision I think is best for my future."
Speculation on why Newton, Dorsey, Reynoso and Smith have decided to leave have been rampant, but it all comes down to one thing. They are unhappy. There is a belief that their relationship with current head coach Ron Prince is a rocky one, at best.
I was told, by a source close to the situation, that Prince is “verbally abusive” to literally almost all his players and coaching staff as well. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution referred to Prince alienating some of the team’s players and supporters with “radio-active, yelling coaching style.” His style is so toxic, it may have led to the departure of one of his coaches. Ken Merchant, a carryover from the Mike London’s coaching staff, is no longer listed as Howard’s quarterback’s coach on their website, which leads me to believe that he is no longer with the program. Merchant, who joined Howard’s coaching staff in February 2018 as the offensive analyst/assistant quarterbacks’ coach/special steams quality control, was known to be a mentor to Newton. I was informed, by my source, that the “abuse” led to Merchant’s departure.
Apparently, this coaching style is not limited to his time on Georgia Avenue. After listening to Boscoe’s Boys -- a podcast dedicated to Kansas State Athletics -- former Wildcat defensive ends Ian Campbell and Reggie Walker were extremely candid in their accounts of how poisonous Prince’s relationship with his
old players and coaches was during his time in Manhattan. During the interview, Campbell and Walker recounted several incidents where they claimed Prince was “blackballing” players and that teammates were “in fear for their livelihood, even the coaches.” Walker, who played under Prince at K-State from 2006-2008, said the following: “The thing is, what I would like a lot of people to understand is the fact of what the environment was. All of the coaches that were there, no matter who they were, no matter what they went on to do, they were all in the same situation as the players. It was like Coach Prince and then everyone else. He put everybody in a situation where it was straight survival mode. When you're putting everybody in a situation where it's a straight-up survival mode, meaning if I don't look out for myself in this, like tomorrow, coach and player. And it doesn't have to do with anything in regards to ‘I'm the best coach’ or ‘I'm the best player’ or ‘I’m performing the best’ or ‘I’m performing the worst’ it doesn't matter. Coach Prince had his own stipulations as to how he wanted to do things.” This coaching staff, that they referred to as “the single greatest one-year coaching staff you could ever possibly put together” coached under Prince yet left after just once season. Who were these coaches, you may ask? Current Penn State Head Coach James Franklin, Atlanta Falcon Assistant Head Coach Raheem Morris and Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost.
Do I think that any of these allegations on why Newton is leaving to be true? Perhaps. It’s hard to think that it could be anything else, especially with these many guys leaving at once. I do know one thing, a lot of the things that I was told sounded eerily familiar to the stories told on the podcast. Which leads to the next question asked by fans over the weekend, “where will Newton end up next?”
I’m not completely sure at this time but it is easy to assume that he may end up back with his old coach Mike London at William & Mary. Newton is familiar with London and W&M’s offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. Under Marion’s “Go-Go Offense”, Newton led the Bison to finishing 2018 ranked 15th nationally in total offense (470.8), 16th in passing offense (278.0), 21st in scoring offense (33.6) and fourth in yards per completion (17.27)– all figures that led the MEAC. Let’s not forget, Newton also received offers from Savannah State, Kentucky Christian and Hampton before choosing to come to DC. The positive aspect of this story is that Newton will be graduating from Howard this May. I’m happy for him and his family. I am disappointed that Caylin potentially may not play another down for an HBCU program. Think about it with me for a moment. Arguably, the face of HBCU Football could be leaving.
And why? Not because he no longer wanted to be here on his own volition but because he was ran out of DC by a coach that, notoriously, pits himself against everyone else, including his coaching staff. And only does this hurt Howard, a program that has only eight winning seasons since Steve Wilson, Gary “Flea” Harrell and Jay “Sky” Walker led the Bison to an 11-1 record in 1993, but this could be just another obstacle that HBCUs will have to fight through when it comes time to recruit.