A day after the University of Miami said that junior reserve defensive end Kelvin Cain had quit the team, his mother, Ursula Dean, said she was still confused with how the situation transpired and said Kelvin told her when he got to his locker this week, it had been cleared of all his belongings.
“He’s heartbroken,’’ said Dean, who lives in Clovis, Calif., a suburb of Fresno. “He said he did not quit the team.
“Coach Golden told me he left the team but that’s not what my son is telling me. He said, ‘Mom, when I showed up, nothing was in my locker.’’’
Chris Freet, UM associate athletic director for communications and marketing, said Thursday that Cain was on the dress roster for Florida State last Saturday and was expected to be at the game, but that he had “removed himself from team activities” by not showing up Friday or for the game.
Dean told The Miami Herald her son called his older brother late last week telling him he was left off the list of UM players who were to stay overnight at their usual Friday-night hotel before home games.
Freet said UM puts out two rosters: a 60-player list of those staying in the hotel on Friday before home games; and a dress roster for those who are to suit up on game day.
Cain's mother said she got a call from defensive line coach Jethro Franklin on Friday afternoon saying coaches didn’t know where Kelvin was.
“Kelvin told me he wasn’t supposed to show up,’’ Dean said. “But I don’t know the rules and if that’s true or not.’’
She said when Golden finally returned her calls Wednesday, he told her he had heard from other members of the team that Kelvin was quitting.
Dean said coaches had told her previously that Kelvin “was having little problems on the field that he didn’t fix.’’
Said Dean: “Coach Franklin said he practiced fine, but on the field the problems showed up again. Kelvin told me he wasn’t getting many reps at practice.
“I really and truly don’t know what’s going on.’’
Dean also said someone at UM tried to get Cain to sign a document “he was withdrawing from the team,’’ but that he declined to sign it.
“Kelvin called me Wednesday afternoon. He still wants to play.’’
Cain, who saw action as a linebacker in nine games last season, had been suspended twice at UM for undisclosed reasons.
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