Asiedu-Johnson proud to play at URI
Tolman graduate happy to be around Shea’s Mbye, other locals
“We went to elementary school together. Everyone else [on the team from Rhode Island], I’ve either played with or against. It’s a small brotherhood within the team. Not a lot of Rhode Islanders on the team, so we take pride in it.”
— URI’s Prince Asiedu- Johnson
KINGSTON — No one has ever mistaken Rhode Island for a football haven. The state produces few high-level football prospects, and even fewer end up representing their hometown by playing for the state university.
That dearth of homegrown talent has led the native sons playing at the University of Rhode Island to form a strong bond.
“Momodou [Mbye] is someone I grew up with,” Prince Asiedu-Johnson, a Pawtucket native and Tolman grad, said. “We went to elementary school together. Everyone else [on the team from Rhode Island], I’ve either played with or against. It’s a small brotherhood within the team. Not a lot of Rhode Islanders on the team, so we take pride in it.”
Asiedu-Johnson, a sophomore running back, is one of 12 Rhode Islanders to make the cut on this season’s team. He has yet to appear in a game for the Rams, but has already gained an appreciation of what it is like to rep his home state.
“If you come here, be ready to work,” he said Thursday, at the team’s official photo day. “There’s not many of us [Rhode Islanders], so the few that are here, we work our tails off. Come ready to work, keep your head down.”
The tailback has done an excellent job to date of following his own advice. After battling a nasty toe injury all of last season, the 5-foot 9-inch former Tiger, braces-wearing back entered this season as somewhat of an afterthought on the depth chart.
The Rams have loaded up their backfield following the graduation of Harold Cooper and T.J. Anderson. Six backs made the cut on this year’s team, including a wide receiver convert and a junior-college transfer, but it wasn’t any of the newcomers who turned heads, it was Asiedu-Johnson. He broke out in April during the team’s Spring Game and followed that up by running for 100 yards and a touchdown in the team’s first summer scrimmage two weeks ago.
“It was great,” Asiedu-Johnson said of camp. “Something new, it was my first camp. I had surgery last camp so I wasn’t able to participate. I came in thinking it wasn’t going to be the best thing because of the injury and whatnot, but it turned out great.”
The running back known as Prince - a name bestowed upon him by his grandfather - was diagnosed with a cyst in one of his toe joints, preventing him from getting on the field at all in his freshman campaign. He had surgery to cut out the cyst and doctors inserted a silicone pad to prevent the issue from recurring.
Now, the former Tolman standout has worked his way into some playing time at the collegiate level. Describing himself as a shifty “scat back,” Asiedu-Johnson took reps with the first offensive unit during Thursday’s walkthrough.
“I came in toward the bottom of the depth chart and worked my way up,” he said. “I hope [to play a lot]. I’m in a few packages with the 1’s. I’ll get a few reps, hopefully.”
Redshirt junior Zoe Bryant was also in the backfield with the other starters, indicating he will likely be the starting running back when the Rams take on Delaware next Thursday. Under center will be returning quarterback JaJuan Lawson.
“Everyone’s excited right now,” Lawson said. “We’re thrilled to be done with camp and preparing to face someone with different colors. See someone we haven’t seen for the last four weeks. We all expect great things from this upcoming season.”
Lawson is a mobile quarterback who threw for 1,198 yards and rushed for another 270 in his debut season with the Rams. He battled injuries and shared time last year with Tyler Harris, but sits atop the depth chart as the regular season approaches.
“It hasn’t been as different as people might think,” Lawson said of entering this season as the unquestioned starter. “If you watch Hard Knocks, [Cleveland Browns quarterback] Baker [Mayfield] says no matter where you are on the depth chart, you have to prepare as if you’re the starter.”
In addition to knowing that the job is safely his, Lawson also enters this season with a good deal of existing chemistry with his receiver corps.
“We have three, four guys coming back who have proved they can do it, year-in, year-out,” he said. “Then we have young guys like Ed Lee, Isaiah Coulter, [Ivory] Frimpong. They all follow suit and watch what the older guys do.
“We’re trying to be as balanced as we can,” he continued. “That’s the great thing about our offense. If we need to run the ball, we can do that at will. If we need to air it out, we can run an Air-Raid style.”
Whether the Rams will finally break through and put up a winning season remains to be seen. If the team’s final day of camp showed anything, it was that this year’s squad is a looser, more relaxed bunch.
“That’s one thing where we’re far better than last year,” Lawson said. “We can have arguments, people on the outside might think we’re yelling at each other, but we’re joking around, having fun. We all get along, which isn’t always the case with football teams.”
The Rams will look to use that chemistry next Thursday, when they open against fellow CAA team Delaware.