Ky Thomas?

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joekulas12

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Has anyone seen anything about Ky Thomas this year and if he was deemed ineligible for being a two-time transfer? It would make sense that he has to sit this year, but it also seems like everyone gets waivers all the time, and I haven't found anything definitive. Just curious...
 

Last I've seen is that he's with Kent State, but I am assuming he's sitting out this year since he has no stats, no appearances.

I'd expect him to play next year.

In other news, I believe Cam Wiley is done with football even though he may have had some eligibility left.
 

I always wonder -- when players leave the Gophers for other schools (e.g. Ky Thomas) do we conduct an exit interview to learn their reasons? I'm guessing some are urged to leave but others must leave for greener pastures or because there's something about their Gopher experience that they don't like. Same with recruits we don't sign. Do we ask why? Seems if we want to improve, we need to know these answers. Such an exit interview would take a skilled inquisitor to get a candid answer. It's easy to just dismiss the interviewee's answers.
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
I always wonder -- when players leave the Gophers for other schools (e.g. Ky Thomas) do we conduct an exit interview to learn their reasons? I'm guessing some are urged to leave but others must leave for greener pastures or because there's something about their Gopher experience that they don't like. Same with recruits we don't sign. Do we ask why? Seems if we want to improve, we need to know these answers. Such an exit interview would take a skilled inquisitor to get a candid answer. It's easy to just dismiss the interviewee's answers.
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I'm fairly certain PJ has an end of season and end of spring ball meeting with each player. At the time Ky transferred he was going to be RB3 or RB4, but as injuries and the portal shows you can never really predict how things are going to shake up.
 

DinkytownDelight said:
I'm fairly certain PJ has an end of season and end of spring ball meeting with each player. At the time Ky transferred he was going to be RB3 or RB4, but as injuries and the portal shows you can never really predict how things are going to shake up.
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I was just naming Thomas as an example of someone who left. I'm curious about an actual exit interview with those who choose to leave and those who choose not to come to UM. And not by the coaches, but by a trained, professional interviewer who can elicit the reasons for the player's decision. I think we'd learn much about the program, the university, and the community by such a practice.
 



Ky was improperly contacted by K St. Which led to a complaint and the NCAA saying he couldn't transfer there. He had already burnt his bridge here though, so he chose Kansas, which also didn't work out. Sometimes kids and their families don't drown out the noise they should. That said, maybe this is the journey he was meant to take.
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
I always wonder -- when players leave the Gophers for other schools (e.g. Ky Thomas) do we conduct an exit interview to learn their reasons? I'm guessing some are urged to leave but others must leave for greener pastures or because there's something about their Gopher experience that they don't like. Same with recruits we don't sign. Do we ask why? Seems if we want to improve, we need to know these answers. Such an exit interview would take a skilled inquisitor to get a candid answer. It's easy to just dismiss the interviewee's answers.
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I think that they do try to get an exit interview with players transferring out, but often the reasons are already known or the player isn't interested in talking about it. I have never heard of an interview of a recruit who opts to sign elsewhere.

Think about it like dating--I parted amicably with a few women I dated in my younger years and could discuss with them why we weren't a good fit for each other, but usually the reasons for a break up were already apparent and/or one of us wasn't really interested in further dialogue with the other. I never asked a lady who didn't want to go out with me "why did you pick him?" or "what could I have done differently?"
 

FanSinceTheFifties said:
I was just naming Thomas as an example of someone who left. I'm curious about an actual exit interview with those who choose to leave and those who choose not to come to UM. And not by the coaches, but by a trained, professional interviewer who can elicit the reasons for the player's decision. I think we'd learn much about the program, the university, and the community by such a practice.
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You are probably right that useful information could be obtained, but I don't think they would get many people willing to respond. Imagine a highly recruited player with 25 scholarship offers being asked to sit for an in-depth interview by each of the schools he rejected.
 



2nd Degree Gopher said:
You are probably right that useful information could be obtained, but I don't think they would get many people willing to respond. Imagine a highly recruited player with 25 scholarship offers being asked to sit for an in-depth interview by each of the schools he rejected.
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One would have to be clever about it. But you don't try, you'd learn nothing.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
I think that they do try to get an exit interview with players transferring out, but often the reasons are already known or the player isn't interested in talking about it. I have never heard of an interview of a recruit who opts to sign elsewhere.

Think about it like dating--I parted amicably with a few women I dated in my younger years and could discuss with them why we weren't a good fit for each other, but usually the reasons for a break up were already apparent and/or one of us wasn't really interested in further dialogue with the other. I never asked a lady who didn't want to go out with me "why did you pick him?" or "what could I have done differently?"
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Many reasons for not asking. If you don't, you won't learn anything.
 

It's not surprising that Ky Thomas ended up at Kent State... Former Gopher running backs & asst. head coach Kenni Burns is the head coach there. He was one of the recruiters who brought Ky to Minnesota. Also, when Kenni left to take over at Kent State, Ky decided to leave Minnesota a month later.
 

Governor Sibley said:
Bucky made a great decision.

Ky not so much.
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You see guys whose paths are more clear and it's easy for them to make the right call.

Other guys have to make different calls and it's harder.

I was chatting with some Michigan fans about a guy who decided to leave for the NFL as it didn't seem like he was likely to get time at Michigan, but dude is not likely to be drafted... They wondered why he didn't take the St-Juste route and go to someplace like MN first and like St-Juste earn his way into the NFL (for a while).

I think for some guys they follow their heart / emotions, others seem to have a better handle on career / business sense.
 



FanSinceTheFifties said:
I was just naming Thomas as an example of someone who left. I'm curious about an actual exit interview with those who choose to leave and those who choose not to come to UM. And not by the coaches, but by a trained, professional interviewer who can elicit the reasons for the player's decision. I think we'd learn much about the program, the university, and the community by such a practice.
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You can’t honestly think recruits and players leaving would sit down with a trained, professional interviewer to answer questions. What world do you live in?
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
You can’t honestly think recruits and players leaving would sit down with a trained, professional interviewer to answer questions. What world do you live in?
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Granted I don't know what a player would do, but I have chosen not to do exit interviews.
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Granted I don't know what a player would do, but I have chosen not to do exit interviews.
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A player in the program may sit down with some coaches. But a random professional interviewer? Not to mention recruits that choose to go elsewhere…
 


FanSinceTheFifties said:
Uncle! I concede. I could never counter an unshakeable argument like that! Well done.
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It’s not an argument. What you’re saying is insane and not done by a single program. I doubt you’re the first to think of it. May be a reason they aren’t formally interviewing recruits who go elsewhere.
 





laazrakit said:
when Kenni left to take over at Kent State, Ky decided to leave Minnesota a month later.
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You mean he decided to leave Kansas a month later. Ky had left Minnesota nearly a full year before Kenni took the Kent State job.
 


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