Connor Mayes announces that he will leave the Gophers on Twitter

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When I went to the Texas Bowl I was sat near the Mayes family. Came across as a great group and very dedicated to Coach Kill and the programme as a whole.

Wish Connor the very best of luck and sorry to see him go. Very respectful and classy young man.
 

die hard gopher said:
Because he likely would have been in the rotation and played. Now given the Moore and Mayes news, he likely would have started IMO if Fleck had kept him.
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I don't mind not having Terry. Fleck obviously didn't think he was very talented, neither did other P5 teams. Maybe it hurts the o-line this coming year, but I don't think those kinds of stop gap players help a program elevate itself.
 

This is very, very good news.

Mayes had to be told it doesn't look like he will get a chance to play, and with one year remaining he said thanks, I'll move on.

Despite all the talk about shortage of oline guys, it sounds like we have enough talent in place or coming in to displace a guy that started in 15 games last two years and played as a true frosh before that.

Very good news!

Weyler, Calhoun (edit), Wright, is very good set of three big, strong, tough, mature guys with interior line experience who move well....guessing Mayes told he would be fighting for a second team spot.

Might also mean that Fleck is recruiting a grad transfer or juco (or multiple guys) who they think is better than Mayes. The way he recruits, nothing would shock me.

Might also mean Warinner and Callahan and the strength coach see some things in Olson, Dovich, Greene, Connelly, Oseland, Schlueter that they think they can work with, develop, fill some gaps and allow them to be flexible.

Could be they really love Andries, Sassack and Schmitz. Andries could have gone just about anywhere and Fleck really sang praises of Sassack and Schmitz. Easily could be they project all three into the two-deep immediately.

People are under estimating how big of an impact Warinner and Callahan are going to have on the oline.

And the s and c coach....if he can work his injury prevention magic, maybe we only need five oline anyway.

Best news of the week out of camp!
 

swingman said:
This is very, very good news.

Mayes had to be told it doesn't look like he will get a chance to play, and with one year remaining he said thanks, I'll move on.

Despite all the talk about shortage of oline guys, it sounds like we have enough talent in place or coming in to displace a guy that started in 15 games last two years and played as a true frosh before that.

Very good news!

Weyler, Moore, Wright, is very good set of three big, strong, tough, mature guys with interior line experience who move well....guessing Mayes told he would be fighting for a second team spot.

Might also mean that Fleck is recruiting a grad transfer or juco (or multiple guys) who they think is better than Mayes. The way he recruits, nothing would shock me.

Might also mean Warinner and Callahan and the strength coach see some things in Olson, Dovich, Greene, Connelly, Oseland, Schlueter that they think they can work with, develop, fill some gaps and allow them to be flexible.

Could be they really love Andries, Sassack and Schmitz. Andries could have gone just about anywhere and Fleck really sang praises of Sassack and Schmitz. Easily could be they project all three into the two-deep immediately.

People are under estimating how big of an impact Warinner and Callahan are going to have on the oline.

And the s and c coach....if he can work his injury prevention magic, maybe we only need five oline anyway.

Best news of the week out of camp!
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Good take, the sky is not falling.
 

swingman said:
This is very, very good news.

Mayes had to be told it doesn't look like he will get a chance to play, and with one year remaining he said thanks, I'll move on.

Despite all the talk about shortage of oline guys, it sounds like we have enough talent in place or coming in to displace a guy that started in 15 games last two years and played as a true frosh before that.

Very good news!

Weyler, Moore, Wright, is very good set of three big, strong, tough, mature guys with interior line experience who move well....guessing Mayes told he would be fighting for a second team spot.

Might also mean that Fleck is recruiting a grad transfer or juco (or multiple guys) who they think is better than Mayes. The way he recruits, nothing would shock me.

Might also mean Warinner and Callahan and the strength coach see some things in Olson, Dovich, Greene, Connelly, Oseland, Schlueter that they think they can work with, develop, fill some gaps and allow them to be flexible.

Could be they really love Andries, Sassack and Schmitz. Andries could have gone just about anywhere and Fleck really sang praises of Sassack and Schmitz. Easily could be they project all three into the two-deep immediately.

People are under estimating how big of an impact Warinner and Callahan are going to have on the oline.

And the s and c coach....if he can work his injury prevention magic, maybe we only need five oline anyway.

Best news of the week out of camp!
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It could mean you have no clue what you are talking about, especially since you referenced Moore who is now at Oklahoma St
 



swingman said:
Meant Calhoun. Sorry.
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The criticism isn't solely for the Moore comment. It's really about speculation on an event involving a devoted player as if he can be tossed away with the trash b/c it's all good news for the future of the team. How do you know it's good news?
Players are subject to criticism and that's ok, but anyone here who acts like they know, definitively, how good an O lineman is, is full of $hit.
Sometimes, even coaches that coach the players are wrong.
 

KillerGopherFan said:
The criticism isn't solely for the Moore comment. It's really about speculation on an event involving a devoted player as if he can be tossed away with the trash b/c it's all good news for the future of the team. How do you know it's good news?
Players are subject to criticism and that's ok, but anyone here who acts like they know, definitively, how good an O lineman is, is full of $hit.
Sometimes, even coaches that coach the players are wrong.
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I doubt with our lack of depth that is the case. What seems more likely is Mayes isn't a Fleck guy. He might not like the new regime or think he fits in to the mold.
 

swingman said:
Meant Calhoun. Sorry.
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Pollyanna take. It's never good to lose a senior OL. He may not have "embraced the culture" or been a poor match for the blocking schemes that the new staff was going to employ but you never want to lose a solid depth kid. You have no idea why CM decided to leave.

As for having three studs on the line- Calhoun was easily the most disappointing guy on the line last year- constantly letting guys cross his face and never getting to the 2nd level to block. Most common site was him looking back at the man he missed. I have a hard time believing that CM wouldn't have had a chance of unseating him as starter.

I do pray that the new staff sees potential in the bevy of RS So and RS Fr coming up because they are going to be getting plenty of opportunities to show their stuff.

Andries has the makings of a young stud and we may see early playing time for him but the other two won't see the field anytime soon. Of course a Fleck sang their praises, he brought them with him from WMU- but that doesn't mean anything in regards to being ready for the Big 10.


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Sparlimb said:
I doubt with our lack of depth that is the case. What seems more likely is Mayes isn't a Fleck guy. He might not like the new regime or think he fits in to the mold.
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Very possibly. It's also possible Mayes just isn't that into football anymore. Definitively saying Fleck dismissed him for lack of talent and that's a great thing is just stupid. He started last season, had a rough time, was a reserve, and then a starter again by the end of the year. The gophers have copious upperclass offensive lineman?

Tangentially his brother Alex had a pretty rough time here as a player, battling injuries, anxiety and panic attacks. This video is interesting and inspiring from someone who's been through the war. He basically recounts his time at MN and all that went on. Alex and Connor are small town guys, seemed to really love Kill, and seem like class acts all around. Alex will graduate and probably move on, Connor may want to move on as well. Brothers, family, can be like that.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J31uAcmpteU" frameborder="0" allowfull
 

swingman said:
Mayes had to be told it doesn't look like he will get a chance to play,
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How do you know this?

He could have decided to transfer for any number of reasons that we won't know and it could have been completely non football related.

I'd say it's very unlikely that Olson, Schlueter, Dovich, Andries etc. would have beaten him out and Mayes was about as sure fire of a starter as you can get.
 


This is the video I meant to embed...sorry if this is a double post. Gopher hole is having technical difficulties as I can't get in to edit.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3YF8yM3pClY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 



This is the Alex Mayes video I meant to post...not sure what's going on here as I can't get in to edit that post. Worth a look.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3YF8yM3pClY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Best of luck to Connor. This is really too bad for the team but hopefully what he wants. To assume any different is just a guess and to say it is good news is just dumb.


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Connor Mayes gave a classy farewell, very impressive. It would have been nice to have him on next fall's team but that's no longer an option. I do have quite a bit of faith in Warinner as an OL coach. If he was a recruit he'd be a 5 star. Great resume as a position coach, not so much as a coordinator. So the Gophers have one of the proven best in the country, I'm thinking the OL will play well next year. In two years, dominate.
 

Rumor is Connor Mayes is a South Dakota State Jackrabbit. Not official but it is on both the NDSU and SDSU message boards.
 

I know there has been a lot of talk about OL depth this spring - due to # of players with injury issues.

But, the real question is what the depth will be like this fall.

According to the official team roster, this looks like the OL situation: 2 Srs (or RS Sr's), 3 JR's, 4 Soph & 5 FR.

That is not ideal. Unless every OL stays healthy all season (never a safe bet), the Soph's are going to have to play, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that some of the RS FR - or maybe even true FR - will have to play.

I'm not saying that the team is doomed. Some of the younger players may turn out to be solid players. But, every time an OL player gets up slowly after a play this year, a lot of people are going to be holding their breath.
 

I think it is time for someone to put together a way too early 2 deep o-line position chart.
 

West Fargo Gopher Fan said:
Rumor is Connor Mayes is a South Dakota State Jackrabbit. Not official but it is on both the NDSU and SDSU message boards.
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I'm guessing that this rumor got started b/c the coaching staff at one or both of these schools started following him on social media. That doesn't mean that he is interested.
I expect that CM will show up at a P5 or G5 school closer to Texas. There's no reason for him to go FCS unless he wants to be eligible next year. Transferring before he has graduated would likely mean he's going to need a fair amount of coursework to get a degree since some U courses won't count toward another school's majors. He'll likely need 2 years of courses to complete a degree, and will take his redshirt next year.
 

KillerGopherFan said:
I'm guessing that this rumor got started b/c the coaching staff at one or both of these schools started following him on social media. That doesn't mean that he is interested.
I expect that CM will show up at a P5 or G5 school closer to Texas. There's no reason for him to go FCS unless he wants to be eligible next year. Transferring before he has graduated would likely mean he's going to need a fair amount of coursework to get a degree since some U courses won't count toward another school's majors. He'll likely need 2 years of courses to complete a degree, and will take his redshirt next year.
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It may not mean anything, but Mayes is also following the SDSU offensive line coach on Twitter. The question for FBS schools will be if they are willing to burn a scholarship for two years to get one season of play.
 

bigticket1 said:
It may not mean anything, but Mayes is also following the SDSU offensive line coach on Twitter. The question for FBS schools will be if they are willing to burn a scholarship for two years to get one season of play.
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Well that and if they contacted him before he was released ;)
 


bigticket1 said:
It may not mean anything, but Mayes is also following the SDSU offensive line coach on Twitter. The question for FBS schools will be if they are willing to burn a scholarship for two years to get one season of play.
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That's a really good point though CM could offer to walk-on in year one to overcome that obstacle. It will depend on how much either side is willing to compromise. IMO, a scholarship from an FBS for one year may not be as important as getting to the right school academically and competitively.
 


gopherveteran said:
Do not believe he has to wait to play at a FBS school.
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Yes he does b/c he will not have graduated by May or the summer session unless he is finishing his degree in 3 years.
 

btowngopher said:
I don't mind not having Terry. Fleck obviously didn't think he was very talented, neither did other P5 teams. Maybe it hurts the o-line this coming year, but I don't think those kinds of stop gap players help a program elevate itself.
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Of course they do.
 

Hates Monikers said:
He was in and out of the lineup in the second half of last season. I wonder if this would've happened anyway with the old staff, or if Mayes already sees that his playing time will be diminished even more under Fleck.

Two sessions into spring practice seems like odd timing.
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Mayes would have played a lot next season. It's a strange transfer. This isn't a rip on Fleck, I'd guess they didn't really jive personality-wise. It would have been absolutely shocking if Mayes didn't see a significant amount of PT next season.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Mayes would have played a lot next season. It's a strange transfer. This isn't a rip on Fleck, I'd guess they didn't really jive personality-wise. It would have been absolutely shocking if Mayes didn't see a significant amount of PT next season.
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I certainly didn't want to see him transfer, but why would it have been shocking? He didn't play well this last year and was 2nd string most of the season. Rumblings from last year were that Connor Olson was outplaying him in practice. I think it's very possible Mayes could have been behind Calhoun, Wright, Weyler and Dovich.
 

John Galt said:
I certainly didn't want to see him transfer, but why would it have been shocking? He didn't play well this last year and was 2nd string most of the season. Rumblings from last year were that Connor Olson was outplaying him in practice. I think it's very possible Mayes could have been behind Calhoun, Wright, Weyler and Dovich.
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Agreed...with Olson added this season
 

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