By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and new head coach Tyler Haines is ready to brave the North Carolina heat for Catawba College football practice.

There are warm months in Ohio, where Haines grew up, but the Southern heat is a blast furnace. Walking out the door in August can be like running headlong into a brick wall.

But Haines appears to be loving every minute of his new surroundings. No one has seen him frown yet.

If enthusiasm and positive thinking were enough to win ballgames, Catawba would go undefeated in 2023.

“Everything is good,” Haines said. “I got here on Jan. 2, and  I’ve been working like crazy since then. It started with putting a staff together. Then recruiting.”

Haines said the first call he made after arriving in Salisbury was to Khanis Hubbard. Fortunately, Hubbard answered the phone.

Hubbard, a former sack machine, played defensive end at an All-America level during high times for the Indians and he also served on the coaching staff of successful Catawba teams. Hubbard wore the blue. He knew the school, knew the people, knew Salisbury.

“I already had met Khanis,” Haines said. “When I was at Shepherd as offensive coordinator, Khanis was one of three finalists who came there to be interviewed for a position. He wasn’t hired, but I knew he was a guy I wanted to work with. Khanis rejoining the Catawba staff was important. He’s a tie to Catawba’s great seasons. Some things had to be changed here, but we respect Catawba’s tradition. We respect Catawba’s past.”

Hubbard came on board with the titles of co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, and a totally revamped staff began falling into place.

Catawba is a program that was strong as recently as 2017 when the Indians were 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the South Atlantic Conference under head coach Curtis Walker.

But Catawba won a total of four SAC games over the last five seasons. COVID helped crush the Indians. They never really recovered from it. They weren’t lucky with injuries or with bounces. They bottomed out in 2022 with a 1-10 season. There was an opening victory over Livingstone, but that was the only one.

Haines knew what he was getting into. A proud program had bottomed out.

“It wasn’t worse or better than what I expected when I was hired — it was exactly what I expected,” Haines said. “The first meeting we had, guys were late for it.”

Still, if Catawba is going to get headed back in the right direction in 2023, it’s going to be the guys that were recruited by Walker and his staff that are going to have to get it done for Haines, Hubbard and a new staff.

The players have been working, trying to get bigger, faster and stronger. Haines said 55 Indians stayed in Salisbury over the summer to work out and lift weights.

“There was no mass exodus from the program with the staff change,” Haines said. “We’ve got 70-something guys returning, and they are guys who have gotten with the plan and bought in to what we’re doing. We got a late start recruiting, but we were able to bring in a 45-man freshman class, guys that we chose, players that can help us.”

The transfer portal is a game-changer. Catawba has been able to make use of it.

“We got 12 portal guys, with the emphasis being on bringing in older, experienced guys,” Haines said. “Eight of our portal guys transferred to us as graduate students. These are high GPA, no-issues guys who will be working on their masters degrees. Four of our portal guys came from Charlotte, where they had a staff change.”

Haines believes the older “portal guys” can set a solid example for the newcomers.

“The transfers can show young guys that this is the way you do it,” Haines said. “When you’ve got a guy who has played at a high level and you put him next to a freshman, maybe the freshman is a little awestruck, but it’s also cool. They can learn a lot.”

Haines said Chase Rogers, a graduate student who played at Georgia Military Academy and Newberry, could make an immediate impact. He’s a 6-foot-5 defensive end.

Catawba got two portal players from former Catawba head coach Chip Hester’s Barton program. Receiver Anton Popov, a graduate student, caught quite a few passes for the Bulldogs, while Malcolm Wilson, the former North Rowan star and a solid backup at Barton, will be in the running back mix for the Indians. Haines said Wilson has turned in productive scrimmages.

The Indians didn’t add any portal quarterbacks, but Haines expressed confidence in Preston Brown, a former Charlotte 49er who missed all of last season with an injury, and Ridge Jacobs, who had his moments as a true freshman last season.

Quarterback injuries have played a large role in Catawba’s recent struggles, but Brown and Jacobs are both healthy. Knock on wood.

Brown hasn’t been in a regular-season game since 2019 when he starred for West Mecklenburg High, but he’s had a solid pre-season and was working with the first unit at Wednesday’s practice.

Off the field, things are going smoothly for Haines, who has won the hearts and minds of a fan base eager for a return to winning games or at least having a chance to win them in the fourth quarter.

Haines’ wife and family — three daughters — didn’t join him until July 2. She’s a schoolteacher and finished out the school year before heading to North Carolina.

“For six months, it was six-hour drives every other weekend to see each other, but now everything is back to normal and we really like Salisbury,” Haines said. “We’ve built some good momentum in the off-season. Now we just have to go out and win some football games.”

The SAC coaches aren’t convinced yet. The SAC looks tough, especially Wingate, Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne. Catawba was picked 11th out of 12 teams in the preseason poll, but Haines’ track record as a strategist, organizer and recruiter is really impressive, so Catawba fans are optimistic.

The season starts on Sept. 2 at Elizabeth City State. The first home game is on Sept. 9 against Livingstone.