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Ex-Razorback DB providing answers
Rob Carr/Associated Press
Michael Coe (left) was beaten by East Carolina's Aundrae Allison on this play during the Senior Bowl back in January. But the former Cordova standout's coverage abilities have NFL scouts very interested.Story Tools
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Baffled by treatment at Arkansas, Coe left; NFL potential remains solid
By Ron Higgins
Contact
April 22, 2007
All Michael Coe ever wanted was answers.
"I never had any character problems," said Coe, a former Cordova High football star who has never been arrested or disciplined by his high school or college coaches.
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He just wanted to know why.
"Nobody can ever question my work ethic," said Coe, who earned a starting spot in Arkansas' secondary as a sophomore.
He sought some justification.
"I didn't flunk out of school," said Coe, who earned his degree with honors by the end of his junior year.
As Coe waits for Saturday's NFL draft -- scouts say his name may be called at the end of the first day in round three or early in day two -- he still wonders why Arkansas practically forced him to transfer before his senior season to Division 1-AA Alabama State.
One possible explanation is that Coe transferred because he wanted to play for his father Charlie, a former University of Memphis assistant who has been Alabama State's head coach since 2003.
But why would a kid who spent four years (including a redshirt year) in a major college program and started most of his last two seasons suddenly leave a place and teammates he loved?
No, blood wasn't thicker than water in this case.
"I felt like I had to," Coe said. "Nobody gave me a reason to stay."
Here today, gone tomorrow
For the last 3 1/2 months, Coe has been feverishly working to prove himself worthy of being an NFL draft choice.
In all-star games such as the East-West Shrine game and the Senior Bowl -- where he got the game's only interception -- the 6-1, 190-pound Coe has shown he still had the chops to take on Division 1-A receivers.
In interviews with teams, he has calmly answered questions on why he left Arkansas. He told them what he knew, and what he knows is this:
By the end of his junior year, though he was not a starter, he was still firmly in the four-cornerback rotation and used on special teams. A few months later when spring practice started, with the same defensive backfield personnel in place, he was on the third team and not on any special team.
"I wasn't even in the four-corners rotation," Coe said. "I offered to play free safety since there was an opening. They didn't want me to do that. I sat on the sideline a lot that spring, and people wanted to know what was going on, and I took the high road. I said everything would be fine, but I was in a complete state of confusion.
"Nobody there gave me a reason to stay. I didn't get any inkling from the coaches or anyone. Even my teammates said I should leave."
So how does a player who had a combined 54 tackles, five interceptions and 11 pass breakups as a sophomore and junior, someone with impeccable academics and flawless character, go from starter to fine print at the bottom of the depth chart?
Cordova High coach John Dowtin -- who still calls Coe five years after his high school graduation "a class act and one of the finest kids I've ever coached" -- said the problem was Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring.
Herring arrived at Arkansas in the spring of 2005 prior to Coe's junior year, and as Coe recalled, "He put me on the third team without ever seeing me play, though I won my job back and was told I was the best defensive player during two-a-days."
Said Dowtin: "You've got a coaching staff that tells you one thing to your face, that 'he's the best kid in our program, he's the kid who goes and speaks to all the high schools for us.' Then, they come back and bench him because the D-coordinator doesn't like the kid.
"If I had a son, Michael Coe is the son I'd want. That kid is unbelievable. He's everything you want."
Herring wasn't available for comment, but Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt explained that Herring's demotion of Coe was done as a motivational ploy.
"Reggie is an unbelievably intense guy who's going to try and push your button," Nutt said. "He's a tough coach, a throwback to the days of the Pat Dyes and Bear Bryants. Not every player can handle it. But it (demoting Coe) was just for motivation to get him to be the best he can be. Michael would have ended up starting."
Coe doesn't buy the "motivation" explanation for his demotion.
"My cornerbacks coach, Bobby Allen, was a straight shooter, and he made me the player I am," Coe said. "He never babied me.
"If I was doing something bad, he would have ripped me up and down. If I needed motivation, he would have told me, 'Michael, you need to do this and this and this,' and everything would have been fine."
What bothers Dowtin and Coe even more is that both feel that someone at Arkansas has spread misinformation to scouts about Coe's character and playing ability, that he transferred because he was difficult to coach and because he was replaced by Chris Houston in the lineup.
"Chris started alongside me, so he had nothing to do with me transferring," Coe said. "And I could tell in interviews (with NFL teams) that things had been said about my character, because the questions I was asked were real detailed. I couldn't believe the things people were saying about me."
Nutt said he has been nothing but complimentary to NFL scouts about Coe.
"A lot of scouts asked me about Michael Coe, and I gave him nothing but an outstanding stamp as a player of great versatility and a person of great character," Nutt said. "The pro people I talk to say Michael leaving our program won't have any effect on his draft position. He's shown through his play and his attitude that he's a player you'd want on your team."
But Dowtin doesn't believe Nutt's gesture compensates for how he thinks Coe was treated.
"Arkansas lied to NFL teams about Michael's bench (press) max (weight), his 40-yard dash time, they were lying about everything about him," Dowtin said. "One of Michael's former coaches at Arkansas is an NFL scout, and when that guy went to get information on Michael from Arkansas, they gave him a bunch of bogus numbers. The scout said he knew the numbers were wrong.
"Also ... Michael wanted to get some film, and they wouldn't give him an
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/football/article/0,1426,MCA_478_5498637,00.html
Rob Carr/Associated Press
Michael Coe (left) was beaten by East Carolina's Aundrae Allison on this play during the Senior Bowl back in January. But the former Cordova standout's coverage abilities have NFL scouts very interested.Story Tools
E-mail this story | Print
Baffled by treatment at Arkansas, Coe left; NFL potential remains solid
By Ron Higgins
Contact
April 22, 2007
All Michael Coe ever wanted was answers.
"I never had any character problems," said Coe, a former Cordova High football star who has never been arrested or disciplined by his high school or college coaches.
Advertisement
He just wanted to know why.
"Nobody can ever question my work ethic," said Coe, who earned a starting spot in Arkansas' secondary as a sophomore.
He sought some justification.
"I didn't flunk out of school," said Coe, who earned his degree with honors by the end of his junior year.
As Coe waits for Saturday's NFL draft -- scouts say his name may be called at the end of the first day in round three or early in day two -- he still wonders why Arkansas practically forced him to transfer before his senior season to Division 1-AA Alabama State.
One possible explanation is that Coe transferred because he wanted to play for his father Charlie, a former University of Memphis assistant who has been Alabama State's head coach since 2003.
But why would a kid who spent four years (including a redshirt year) in a major college program and started most of his last two seasons suddenly leave a place and teammates he loved?
No, blood wasn't thicker than water in this case.
"I felt like I had to," Coe said. "Nobody gave me a reason to stay."
Here today, gone tomorrow
For the last 3 1/2 months, Coe has been feverishly working to prove himself worthy of being an NFL draft choice.
In all-star games such as the East-West Shrine game and the Senior Bowl -- where he got the game's only interception -- the 6-1, 190-pound Coe has shown he still had the chops to take on Division 1-A receivers.
In interviews with teams, he has calmly answered questions on why he left Arkansas. He told them what he knew, and what he knows is this:
By the end of his junior year, though he was not a starter, he was still firmly in the four-cornerback rotation and used on special teams. A few months later when spring practice started, with the same defensive backfield personnel in place, he was on the third team and not on any special team.
"I wasn't even in the four-corners rotation," Coe said. "I offered to play free safety since there was an opening. They didn't want me to do that. I sat on the sideline a lot that spring, and people wanted to know what was going on, and I took the high road. I said everything would be fine, but I was in a complete state of confusion.
"Nobody there gave me a reason to stay. I didn't get any inkling from the coaches or anyone. Even my teammates said I should leave."
So how does a player who had a combined 54 tackles, five interceptions and 11 pass breakups as a sophomore and junior, someone with impeccable academics and flawless character, go from starter to fine print at the bottom of the depth chart?
Cordova High coach John Dowtin -- who still calls Coe five years after his high school graduation "a class act and one of the finest kids I've ever coached" -- said the problem was Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring.
Herring arrived at Arkansas in the spring of 2005 prior to Coe's junior year, and as Coe recalled, "He put me on the third team without ever seeing me play, though I won my job back and was told I was the best defensive player during two-a-days."
Said Dowtin: "You've got a coaching staff that tells you one thing to your face, that 'he's the best kid in our program, he's the kid who goes and speaks to all the high schools for us.' Then, they come back and bench him because the D-coordinator doesn't like the kid.
"If I had a son, Michael Coe is the son I'd want. That kid is unbelievable. He's everything you want."
Herring wasn't available for comment, but Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt explained that Herring's demotion of Coe was done as a motivational ploy.
"Reggie is an unbelievably intense guy who's going to try and push your button," Nutt said. "He's a tough coach, a throwback to the days of the Pat Dyes and Bear Bryants. Not every player can handle it. But it (demoting Coe) was just for motivation to get him to be the best he can be. Michael would have ended up starting."
Coe doesn't buy the "motivation" explanation for his demotion.
"My cornerbacks coach, Bobby Allen, was a straight shooter, and he made me the player I am," Coe said. "He never babied me.
"If I was doing something bad, he would have ripped me up and down. If I needed motivation, he would have told me, 'Michael, you need to do this and this and this,' and everything would have been fine."
What bothers Dowtin and Coe even more is that both feel that someone at Arkansas has spread misinformation to scouts about Coe's character and playing ability, that he transferred because he was difficult to coach and because he was replaced by Chris Houston in the lineup.
"Chris started alongside me, so he had nothing to do with me transferring," Coe said. "And I could tell in interviews (with NFL teams) that things had been said about my character, because the questions I was asked were real detailed. I couldn't believe the things people were saying about me."
Nutt said he has been nothing but complimentary to NFL scouts about Coe.
"A lot of scouts asked me about Michael Coe, and I gave him nothing but an outstanding stamp as a player of great versatility and a person of great character," Nutt said. "The pro people I talk to say Michael leaving our program won't have any effect on his draft position. He's shown through his play and his attitude that he's a player you'd want on your team."
But Dowtin doesn't believe Nutt's gesture compensates for how he thinks Coe was treated.
"Arkansas lied to NFL teams about Michael's bench (press) max (weight), his 40-yard dash time, they were lying about everything about him," Dowtin said. "One of Michael's former coaches at Arkansas is an NFL scout, and when that guy went to get information on Michael from Arkansas, they gave him a bunch of bogus numbers. The scout said he knew the numbers were wrong.
"Also ... Michael wanted to get some film, and they wouldn't give him an
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/football/article/0,1426,MCA_478_5498637,00.html
