2 former Canes eager for second chance with Dolphins
With Mark Walton (cut by Cincinnati) and Kendrick Norton (released by Carolina), the Dolphins have now snagged two of UM’s talented early entrants from the 2018 draft without even needing to use a draft pick on either one of them.
Just a year ago, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. was calling Walton “a second-round talent . ... He looked like a guaranteed third-round pick and then he had the ankle injury [in October 2017 against FSU]. Go back to two years ago, 2016, he was outstanding in a lot of areas. He can catch, he runs inside, he can bounce it to the outside.”
And then during a Dolphins OTA practice on Tuesday, we were reminded of Walton’s skill set when he made a difficult catch from Jake Rudock in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
“That’s something I do,” said Walton, who was a dual threat in 31 games at UM, with 26 touchdowns on the ground (and 5.1 yards per carry in his career) to go along with 56 catches for 624 yards (11.1 average) and two TDs through the air. “I take pride in catching the ball out of the backjunior
field,” he added Tuesday.
Walton will have three court appearances for those arrests. At some point, the NFL will decide whether those warrant a suspension under the league’s personal conduct policy.
He was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge in January, and that case has a June 5 trial date. In February, he was charged with misdemeanor battery after he allegedly took a phone from a neighbor at his Brickell condo. That case will go to trial June 3.
He was then arrested March 12 and charged with a felony for carrying a concealed weapon he owned and misdemeanor charges for marijuana possession, reckless driving and resisting a police officer without violence. There’s a June 24 trial date for that case.
“I think people deserve a second chance,” coach Brian Flores said. “Obviously, talented player.”
Walton’s agent Malki Kawa spoke to the Dolphins about giving Walton at least a tryout at rookie minicamp, and the Dolphins were receptive.
Walton earned a contract 48 hours after the minicamp started. “I’m more than thankful,” Walton told me Tuesday. “I’m blessed to be here. It’s an honor to be here, also.”
Though he averaged a modest 2.4 yards on just 14 carries with the Bengals during the regular season and 21 yards on 22 preseason carries, remember this is a player who was averaging 7.6 yards per carry on 56 carries as a before sustaining a seasonending ankle injury against FSU. “When I’m running downhill, I’m at my best,” he said.
Walton has faced considerable personal tragedy. His father died when he was 7 and his mother died, following a stroke, in March 2018. He also lost his grandmother and a brother.
Asked what he has learned through personal ordeals, he said simply, “I’ve learned growth as a person.”
As for Norton, he turned pro after his junior year, expecting to be picked by the middle rounds. Instead, he slipped to the seventh, 242nd overall, and failed to make the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster out of training camp. The Panthers signed him to their practice squad, and Miami plucked him off their practice squad on Dec. 19.
“I saw a chance to come down here and maybe get some playing time,” he said.
Norton insists he doesn’t regret the decision to go pro, despite not being on a 53-man roster until the final two games of last season. An associate said he was simply ready to begin his professional career instead of continuing on as a student-athlete.
He said he still feels good about “having a long-term NFL career.” Norton will be competing to stick as Miami’s fifth defensive tackle, behind Christian Wilkins, Davon Godchaux, Vincent Taylor and likely, Akeem Spence. Miami could keep five or six defensive tackles because some of the tackles are also being used as ends when Miami plays a 3-4 defense.
There’s still upside with Norton, who had a combined four sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore and junior at UM.
“Having him on the same team with me with the Miami Dolphins is amazing,” Walton said of Norton. The third Cane who went pro early in 2017 — fifth-round defensive tackle RJ McIntosh — is now competing for a job with the Giants.
A third former Cane on the Dolphins, tight end Clive Walford, left UM after 2014, before Walton or Norton arrived.
Incidentally, the Dolphins bypassed the chance to sign UM’s top undrafted player in the 2019 class, Gerald Willis, who passed up opportunities to visit with the Dolphins before the draft. He’s now with Baltimore.
CHATTER
A source said there was no thought being given to a Marlins in-season managerial change before the team started winning in recent days. But Fox’s Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday that a Marlins managerial change is likely after the season when Don Mattingly’s contract expires. I have been told that decision hasn’t been made.
Appearing on a Jacksonville radio station, UM coach Manny Diaz conceded: “We had too many guys kind of OK with coming in second place on any given Saturday” last year. “We’ve tried to make everything they do a competition — good incentive or negative incentive. Try to be a winning team but not accept losing. We had a little bit of that on our resume last year.”
Add Hollywood Chaminade Madonna defensive backs Keontra Smith (safety) and Te’Cory Couch (cornerback) to the list of new Canes football player who enrolled this week.
Though Udonis Haslem would be a logical choice to replace Michigan-bound Juwan Howard on Erik Spoelstra’s staff, Haslem has said repeatedly in the past year that he has no interest in a coaching career. Heat assistant Anthony Carter figures to get some consideration, along with former Pistons assistants Tim Hardaway and Malik Allen (now with the Timberwolves).