Defensive end Kelvin Cain is not with the Miami Hurricanes football team, and no one can agree on the reason why. On Thursday, UM spokesman Chris Freet told The Miami Herald that Cain "removed himself from team activities" before last Saturday's Florida State game, failing to show up for Friday's pregame activities and the next day's game.
But Cain's mother, Ursula Dean, told the Herald that he did not quit the team, but that when he showed up to his locker earlier this week, all his belongings were gone.
"Coach [Al] Golden told me he left the team but that's not what my son is telling me," Dean said. "He said, 'Mom, when I showed up, nothing was in my locker.'"
According to Dean, Cain was left off UM's list of players staying in the team's hotel before the FSU game (the team usually stays at a local hotel the night before home games), which is why he was not present on Friday.
But Freet said he was on that list, as well as the smaller list of players to dress for the game. When Cain did not show up on Friday, UM defensive line coach Jethro Franklin called Dean to see if she knew where he was.
"Kelvin told me he wasn't supposed to show up," she said to the Herald. "But I don't know the rules and if that’s true or not."
Cain is not the only player whose status has come into doubt this week. On Wednesday, the father of defensive linemen Luther Robinson called Joe Rose's show on WQAM to complain that Golden has treated players recruited by his predecessor Randy Shannon unfairly, preferring those his staff has recruited.
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"I’m going to tell him he's a liar," Robinson's father said. "This guy is a liar and I don't like it. I don't like him insulting my son."
But the Herald crunched the numbers Thursday, finding that the team's depth chart is split 50/50 between Golden and Shannon recruits. Not only that, 18 starters were recruited by Shannon, compared to just 10 Golden recruits.
Robinson apologized for his father's comments on Saturday. "He was looking out for me, not really looking out for the team," he told the Herald. "I just told him that he was wrong for doing it and that we need to cut that out."
It is not unusual for a new coach to rub some of the players he inherited from the previous regime the wrong way. With the Canes off this weekend, Golden's press availability has been limited. Expect to hear more about these disputes next week.
