Connor Mayes announces that he will leave the Gophers on Twitter

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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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It would have been shocking to me because he played quite a bit every single game last year (unless I'm mistaken). We lost one of our better interior lineman, it's a somewhat thin group, he would have been a senior (with two previous years starting experience), and even with this list, he'd be in the two deeps. I would have been pretty surprised if Dovich would have jumped Mayes.

Let's say all of these scenarios play out:

T: Wright
G: Calhoun
C: Weyler
G: Olson
T: Greene

Our only non-freshman backups would have been Mayes, Dovich, Oseland, Connolly, Schlueter. So, even when giving your analysis the greatest benefit of the doubt (Olson and Dovich are both better right now than Mayes), he'd still firmly be in the 2 deeps and the 7th best OL on the team.

So yeah, it'd be pretty surprising to me if the 7th best OL on our team didn't get significant PT (that would be an incredibly healthy OL) and it would be pretty surprising to me if a bunch of true freshman and/or guys he has always been higher than on the depth chart passed him.

This transfer isn't the end of the world or anything, but it would have been pretty shocking to me if Mayes was on our roster and didn't get much PT next season. He was also kind of a perfect OL. He is a senior, so he would give us depth this year and not take up a roster spot for PJ to recruit his guys. So, I doubt PJ pushed this transfer at all (I'm not saying you did, but some people seem to be implying it).
 

Fans always assume a player is pushed out. It surely does happen, usually after a player has had four years. But, many times a player doesn't like the role that they see developing for them, and if they aren't enamored with the HC or position coach, or hope to have a chance on the next level, they leave by choice.
To say that Gopher Football has had turmoil since 2015 would be an understatement. 3rd OL coach in 3 years. Why not choose your own instead of hoping things work out with the new guy?
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
It would have been shocking to me because he played quite a bit every single game last year (unless I'm mistaken). We lost one of our better interior lineman, it's a somewhat thin group, he would have been a senior (with two previous years starting experience), and even with this list, he'd be in the two deeps. I would have been pretty surprised if Dovich would have jumped Mayes.

Let's say all of these scenarios play out:

T: Wright
G: Calhoun
C: Weyler
G: Olson
T: Greene

Our only non-freshman backups would have been Mayes, Dovich, Oseland, Connolly, Schlueter. So, even when giving your analysis the greatest benefit of the doubt (Olson and Dovich are both better right now than Mayes), he'd still firmly be in the 2 deeps and the 7th best OL on the team.

So yeah, it'd be pretty surprising to me if the 7th best OL on our team didn't get significant PT (that would be an incredibly healthy OL) and it would be pretty surprising to me if a bunch of true freshman and/or guys he has always been higher than on the depth chart passed him.

This transfer isn't the end of the world or anything, but it would have been pretty shocking to me if Mayes was on our roster and didn't get much PT next season. He was also kind of a perfect OL. He is a senior, so he would give us depth this year and not take up a roster spot for PJ to recruit his guys. So, I doubt PJ pushed this transfer at all (I'm not saying you did, but some people seem to be implying it).
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I also doubt PJ pushed Connor out. I'm saying Connor saw the writing on the wall. This isn't Tyler Moore transferring to Okie St, this is a 4th year lineman potentially transferring to South Dakota St. The only logical reason he does that is for playing time as a senior, right? It's pretty clear from his transfer message that he enjoyed the U, his teammates, and appeared to be on board with PJ.

It's also possible that Wright moves to Guard where he was initially recruited. I could see a rotation where Greene and either Connelly, Schleuter or Oseland are at OT. If that's the case, Mayes could potentially be behind Calhoun, Wright, Weyler, Dovich, and Olson on the interior line.
 

John Galt said:
I also doubt PJ pushed Connor out. I'm saying Connor saw the writing on the wall. This isn't Tyler Moore transferring to Okie St, this is a 4th year lineman potentially transferring to South Dakota St. <b>The only logical reason he does that is for playing time as a senior, right? </b>It's pretty clear from his transfer message that he enjoyed the U, his teammates, and appeared to be on board with PJ.
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I can think of many logical reasons that have nothing at all to do with playing time or even football.


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dpodoll68 said:
If we hadn't burned his redshirt, he probably wouldn't be transferring right now as he likely wouldn't want to throw away a year of eligibility. Thanks for reminding everyone of my awesome foresight!
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If only SDSU were an FBS school this logic would have worked.
 

Spoofin said:
I can think of many logical reasons that have nothing at all to do with playing time or even football.


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Great. I'd love to hear a few of the reasons a kid from Texas would transfer from MN to South Dakota St prior to his senior season.
 


or someone who works at Daktronics in Brookings.
Maybe he has an intern opportunity at Daktronics.

Maybe he doesn't get along with the new oline coach and doesn't want to sit a year.
 



John Galt said:
Great. I'd love to hear a few of the reasons a kid from Texas would transfer from MN to South Dakota St prior to his senior season.
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Maybe there is something that matters to him more than football. Maybe he has a job opportunity. Maybe he likes their academics in a certain area. Maybe he doesn't like the Us academics in a certain area. Maybe his best friend is going to go there. Who knows John - but don't pretend that you know what "must" be driving CM's decision.


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John Galt said:
I also doubt PJ pushed Connor out. I'm saying Connor saw the writing on the wall. This isn't Tyler Moore transferring to Okie St, this is a 4th year lineman potentially transferring to South Dakota St. The only logical reason he does that is for playing time as a senior, right? It's pretty clear from his transfer message that he enjoyed the U, his teammates, and appeared to be on board with PJ.

It's also possible that Wright moves to Guard where he was initially recruited. I could see a rotation where Greene and either Connelly, Schleuter or Oseland are at OT. If that's the case, Mayes could potentially be behind Calhoun, Wright, Weyler, Dovich, and Olson on the interior line.
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I wouldn't dispute your suspicion for the transfer, but I think you're reading too much into his "transfer message".
When a player decides to transfer, it is important that they put a sugar-coated (or classy) message out for public consumption. First, it alerts prospective programs in need of interior OLs that he is transferring as the report will be widely published on the internet. FCS programs monitor transfers at all times looking for football players that could help their program fill holes with a proven FBS level player, as well as other FBS programs that have position issues. Second, a positive message is perceived by prospective programs as an amicable parting by a player with a good attitude that may feel he is being undervalued by his current coaching staff or has been bumped by a better player. In either case, though the player is somewhat damaged goods, he may actually be better than players that the prospective program has on their roster or he may in fact actually been undervalued by his current coaches or both.
In any case, a positive parting message will help a transferring player get the interest of a prospective program if he is open to a variety of transfer possibilities.
So, I'd take the glowing remarks with a gain of salt though I'd say it's very likely that CM liked his teammates a lot.
 

Spoofin said:
Maybe there is something that matters to him more than football. Maybe he has a job opportunity. Maybe he likes their academics in a certain area. Maybe he doesn't like the Us academics in a certain area. Maybe his best friend is going to go there. Who knows John - but don't pretend that you know what "must" be driving CM's decision.


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He's not transferring back to Texas, he's transferring (potentially) to SDSU. I doubt he has a job opportunity in Brookings that's lined up for him. Or that he loves their philosophy program. Or that it's ranked higher than the U's program. He basically has 9 months remaining to play power 5 football. I don't know anybody that would give up playing football to go to school with a buddy in South Dakota for 9 months. Maybe it's a girl...
 



John Galt said:
He's not transferring back to Texas, he's transferring (potentially) to SDSU. I doubt he has a job opportunity in Brookings that's lined up for him. Or that he loves their philosophy program. Or that it's ranked higher than the U's program. He basically has 9 months remaining to play power 5 football. I don't know anybody that would give up playing football to go to school with a buddy in South Dakota for 9 months. Maybe it's a girl...
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Maybe. Maybe it is to get max playing time as you guessed. I don't know. I simply said there are reasons outside of football he may transfer and provided some examples when asked. Maybe he won't even end up at SDSU. As far as I can tell that talk is based on twitter follows.


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Connor isn't the most athletic linemen out there. You guys may want to start your investigation there.
 

gophmeister said:
Connor isn't the most athletic linemen out there. You guys may want to start your investigation there.
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And not close to the least either. Easily would have been at worst a solid b/u to Calhoun if not successful at beating him out.


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Oregon Gopher said:
And not close to the least either. Easily would have been at worst a solid b/u to Calhoun if not successful at beating him out.

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Calhoun may not be starter come fall. They may go with Olson and Wright at guard.
 

gophmeister said:
Connor isn't the most athletic linemen out there. You guys may want to start your investigation there.
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Hey, don't go trying to lead the investigation off track by confusing all of the speculation with observations.


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BroncoRedux said:
There is a term for athletic linemen: defensive linemen.
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That is an observation that may be true for what Kill and Claeys valued, but that doesn't mean it is true for all programs. When your offense isn't diverse and all you want is "roadgraders", you'll get less athletic OLs.
 



Gaelin Elmore and Jerry Gibson switched from TE to DL
 



GFBfan said:
Gaelin Elmore and Jerry Gibson switched from TE to DL
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I don't want to speak for JB, but I think he's referring to players that have established themselves in college at the TE position or guys transitioning to the NFL. The Vikings have a guy on their roster, Reid Fragel, that played TE at Ohio St, switched to OT his senior year and is trying to make the NFL as an OT. Lane Johnson, Eagles OT played TE at Oklahoma. Alejandro Villeneuva, Steelers OT played TE at Army. Nate Solder, NE Patriots OT played TE early in career at Colorado. Sebastian Vollmer, current NFL free agent OT played TE at Houston. There are more. Of course, the NFL values athletic OLs.
If anything, your post confirms my post that Kill and Claeys didn't value athletic OLs. And no one is making the point that TEs can't convert to DLs, just that it is a bigger transition than converting to OT for players that have established themselves as a TE. I don't think JB was talking about Freshman that haven't established themselves at the college level.
And, it really depends on the individual. But if a college player is 6'5" or 6'6" and 250 or 260 with the potential to add 20-30 lbs, it can be a good transition to OT. Most TEs aren't candidates for OL, but even fewer established TEs are candidates for DL.
 

die hard gopher said:
Hageman too. A lot more TE's switch to DE instead of OT.
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Hageman playing TE was a total misanalysis of a guy's skill. He was no TE and wouldn't get a whiff of the NFL had he stayed at TE. Pretty good example of how bad Brewster was.
 

KillerGopherFan said:
Hageman playing TE was a total misanalysis of a guy's skill. He was no TE and wouldn't get a whiff of the NFL had he stayed at TE. Pretty good example of how bad Brewster was.
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Brewster was the one who switched him to the DL during his redshirt Freshman year.
 


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