HAVRE — MSU-Northern redshirt senior, Kaymen Cureton, has high hopes for his final season for the Northern Lights despite last year’s losing season.
The 23-year-old, Long Beach, California native started his college career at the University of Nevada where he spent three years as a Division I athlete at safety and quarterback before transferring to Eastern Kentucky University. From there, he transferred to Havre to reunite with the coach that first recruited him out of high school to San Jose State University when he was 15 years old, former head coach Andrew Rolin.
“So, I felt the comfort here when he called me. We resonated with each other so it was just easy to come here,” Cureton said.
With Rolin’s departure after the 2021 season, Cureton didn’t look for a fourth school to transfer to. He had made a bond with his new teammates and wanted to see it through one last time.
“Me staying here, it was just the guys,” Cureton explained. “The relationship I built with them last year, it's a family. It's a group of guys that trust me and that's something that you can’t ask for.”
Cureton started under center last season for the Northern Lights, and despite an overall down year for him and the offense and compiling only seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but there were flashes of brilliance and maturity that can be traced back to his days as a Division I athlete.
“I think being where I was, that taught me a lot about the man that that was supposed to be, not only on the field, but off the field,” Cureton admitted. “That level holds you accountable very fast.”
Now entering his sixth year of college ball including his redshirt sophomore season with the Nevada Wolfpack, the experience Cureton has gained over the past few years brings a level-headedness to the field that will aid the team’s new lineup.
“Kaymen’s a really athletic guy and he's a mature guy,” head coach Jerome Souers said. “He's older than a lot of his teammates, but you know, his maturity brings a calmness to the field.”
As for dealing with the struggles of a losing season in 2021, it was tough for him and his team, but through it all, Cureton embraced the value of accountability as he has his sights set on improving upon their 1-10 record from last season.
“You can never be comfortable and only winning one game is definitely a different experience,” Cureton laughed. “To bring one to this city when they deserved, it was amazing, but to not be able to do it consistently, to see the work that you're putting in or the lack of it, that's what's really amazing. You’ve got to hold yourself accountable in that regard. Am I really working as hard as I say I am if we come out here, and we're losing? It should show wins.”
Cureton is a dreamer and a doer wanting to establish a winning culture in his final fall as a college football player. His goals also include making it to a professional league on the gridiron and if not, wants to become a sports agent.
Cureton will have that chance to begin a new chapter of MSU-Northern football when he and the team take on the College of Idaho on Aug. 27 for their season opener.
