Sources: Gophers tight end Maxx Williams intends to turn pro

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mcal24 said:
Not sure if already posted, but Maxx is the #1 ranked TE on walterfootball.com.

http://walterfootball.com/draft2015TE.php
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If Maxx has a good bowl game and comes away healthy he is a great prospect in this years thin draft. He will still need to perform at the combine to be the top TE taken, but a sub 4.6 40 and his good hands and pass catching ability could put him in the money as a mid-first round pick and the #1 overall TE taken.
 

We have pretty good depth at TE. I am more worried about BBC and/or Eric Murray declaring.
 

DrSwerve1978 said:
We have pretty good depth at TE. I am more worried about BBC and/or Eric Murray declaring.
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McShay has Murray as an early 3rd round guy in his latestt Mock(RS Soph not included). I think he can get in the 2nd round with a good combine. Highly unlikely he comes out though. 1st Round

1. Tennessee Titans - Shane Ray - DE/OLB - Missouri
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Marcus Mariota - QB - Oregon
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Leonard Williams - DT - USC
4. New York Jets - Jameis Winston - QB - Florida State
5. Oakland Raiders - Amari Cooper - WR - Alabama
6. Washington Redskins - Brandon Scherff - OT - Iowa
7. Chicago Bears - Landon Collins - S - Alabama
8. Atlanta Falcons - Randy Gregory - DE/OLB - Nebraska
9. Minnesota Vikings - Cedric Ogbuehi - OT/OG - Texas A&M
10. New York Giants - Dante Fowler Jr - DE - Florida
11. New Orleans Saints - Shawn Oakman - DE - Baylor
12. St Louis Rams - Devante Parker - WR - Louisville
13. Cleveland Browns - Danny Shelton - DT - Washington
14. San Francisco 49ers - Kevin White - WR - West Virginia
15. Houston Texans - Ereck Flowers - OT - Miami (FL)
16. Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo) - Leonard Floyd - OLB - Georgia
17. Kansas City Chiefs - Jaelen Strong - WR - Arizona State
18. Miami Dolphins - TJ Clemmings - OT - Pittsburgh
19. Baltimore Ravens - Vic Beasley - OLB - Clemson
20. Philadelphia Eagles - Trae Waynes - CB - Michigan State
21. Green Bay Packers - Eddie Goldman - DT - Florida State
22. Arizona Cardinals - Shaq Thompson - OLB - Washington
23. Indianapolis Colts - La'El Collins - OT - LSU
24. Cincinnati Bengals - AJ Cann - OL - South Carolina
25. Pittsburgh Steelers - Kevin Johnson - CB - Wake Forest
26. Carolina Panthers - Andrus Peat - OT - Stanford
27. Detroit Lions - Marcus Peters - CB - Washington
28. New England Patriots - Devin Funchess - TE/WR - Michigan
29. San Diego Chargers - Malcolm Brown - NT - Texas
30. Seattle Seahawks - Michael Bennett - DT - Ohio State
31. Dallas Cowboys - Bud Dupree - OLB - Kentucky
32. Denver Broncos - Denzel Perryman - ILB - Miami (FL)

2nd Round

33. Tennessee Titans - Ifo Ekpre-Olomu - CB - Oregon
34. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Daryl Williams - OT - Oklahoma
35. Jacksonville Jaguars - Melvin Gordon - RB - Wisconsin
36. New York Jets - Tyrus Thompson - OT - Oklahoma
37. Oakland Raiders - Trey Flowers - DE - Arkansas
38. Washington Redskins - Jalen Mills - CB - LSU
39. Chicago Bears - Bendardrick McKinney - ILB - Mississippi State
40. Atlanta Falcons - Shilique Calhoun - DE - Michigan State
41. Minnesota Vikings - Todd Gurley - RB - Georgia
42. New York Giants - Cameron Erving - OL - Florida State
43. New Orleans Saints - Ronald Darby - CB - Florida State
44. St Louis Rams - Connor Cook - QB - Michigan State
45. Cleveland Browns - Devin Smith - WR - Ohio State
46. San Francisco 49ers - PJ Williams - CB - Florida State
47. Houston Texans - Ty Montgomery - WR - Stanford
48. Buffalo Bills - Derron Smith - S - Fresno State
49. Kansas City Chiefs - Corey Robinson - OT - South Carolina
50. Miami Dolphins - Eli Harold - OLB - Virginia
51. Baltimore Ravens - Rashad Greene - WR - Florida State
52. Philadelphia Eagles - Anthony Harris - S - Virginia
53. Green Bay Packers - Eric Kendricks - ILB - UCLA
54. Arizona Cardinals - Mario Edwards Jr - DE - Florida State
55. Indianapolis Colts - Damarious Randall - S - Arizona State
56. Cincinnati Bengals - Lorenzo Mauldin - DE - Louisville
57. Pittsburgh Steelers - Cody Prewitt - S - Ole Miss
58. Carolina Panthers - Nelson Agholor - WR - USC
59. Detroit Lions - Carl Davis - DT - Iowa
60. New England Patriots - Duke Johnson - RB - Miami (FL)
61. San Diego Chargers - Hroniss Grasu - OC - Oregon
62. Seattle Seahawks - Laken Tomlinson - OG - Duke
63. Dallas Cowboys - Corey Crawford - DE - Clemson
64. Denver Broncos - Reese Dismukes - OC - Auburn

3rd Round

65. Tennessee Titans - Hau'Oli Kikaha - DE/OLB - Washington
66. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jarvis Harrison - OG - Texas A&M
67. Jacksonville Jaguars - Ty Sambrailo - OT - Colorado State
68. New York Jets - Damian Swann - CB - Georgia
69. Oakland Raiders - Tevin Coleman - RB - Indiana
70. Washington Redskins - Kurtis Drummond - S - Michigan State
71. Chicago Bears - Jake Ryan - OLB - Michigan
72. Atlanta Falcons - Nick O'Leary - TE - Florida State
73. Minnesota Vikings - Eric Murray - CB - Minnesota
74. New York Giants - Stephone Anthony - ILB - Clemson
75. New Orleans Saints - Brett Hundley - QB - UCLA
76. St Louis Rams - Vadal Alexander - OG - LSU
77. Cleveland Browns - Ramik Wilson - ILB - Georgia
78. San Francisco 49ers - Josue Matias - OG - Florida State
79. Houston Texans - Lorenzo Doss - CB - Tulane
80. Buffalo Bills - Hayes Pullard - OLB - USC
81. Kansas City Chiefs - Cody Riggs - CB - Notre Dame
82. Miami Dolphins - Quinten Rollins - CB - Miami (OH)
83. Baltimore Ravens - BJ Finney - OC - Kansas State
84. Philadelphia Eagles - Eric Striker - OLB - Oklahoma
85. Green Bay Packers - Jeff Heuerman - TE - Ohio State
86. Arizona Cardinals - Ameer Abdullah - RB - Nebraska
87. Indianapolis Colts - TJ Yeldon - RB - Alabama
88. Cincinnati Bengals - Gabe Wright - DT - Auburn
89. Pittsburgh Steelers - Charles Tapper - DT - Oklahom
 



If he goes pro, it's not the end of the world, but it will have an impact. Williams is a proven commodity; the younger TE's have potential, but they haven't proven it yet. Hopefully, other players can pick up the production- but you can't underestimate the importance Williams had on the Gophers' offense - he was the top receiver on the team. That's not something you can just shrug off or dismiss. Also, Leidner loses his security blanket.

For the Gophers to show continued improvement next year, at least 1 or 2 of the other TE's will have to show noticeable improvement, and the young WR's will need to make a contribution. The big question: who emerges (if someone emerges) as the key 3rd-down receiver?
 

My favorite moment of the year....Maxx makes great catch but way out of bounds vs. Iowa. The first replay is shown on the board. No way. The buzz in the stadium kept growing and growing with each replay. Amazing.
 

die hard gopher said:
Bah!

Before this season you said we would win 5-6 wins with no chance of more than 7. You said Michigan would be a guaranteed loss despite them coming off of a 7 win season. You said Nebraska was going to be one of the most difficult upsets to pull of this year despite them coming off of a blowout at camp Randall and us coming off only a 7 point loss to OSU. You thought we would somehow be double digit dogs to Iowa as well. I'm sure you thought we wouldn't even get a bowl in 2012 despite returning 16 out of 22 starters and you probably thought we would have another three win season in 2011. To be honest if I shared you're views about the program I would quit my gopher fandom on the spot.

As for Maxx, he is a top two TE in the country but he isn't the reason why we have had back to back 8 win seasons. He hasn't even had a 500 yard season yet. I don't even know if it will be half as detrimental as losing Abrederis was to Wisconsin's passing game this year. Besides hands and body control Duke is every bit the TE Maxx is particularly with his size and athleticism. Isaiah Gentry will be the best deep threat the gophers have had in a long time and Melvin Holland and Jeff Jones will be outstanding weapons in the passing game as well.

End of rant. Feels good to get that out.
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All I said is that I would be excited if the Gophers won 7+ games next year - that's pretty much the philosophy I have going into every year (I think I would be more likely to 'quit my fandom' if I expected more than that, historically) . As for your Maxx paragraph, if all your predictions regarding players that have done nothing up to this point come true I agree that we will be fine.

Not to make this all about me, but I'll try and respond to your rants:

- I admit I predicted between 5-7 wins this year. I'm super excited that I was slightly wrong on the high end, and think that this was the greatest season of Gopher football in at least 25 years.

- Yeah, I thought we would lose at Michigan before the season started. Doubt I was the only one.

- The Nebraska upset was not only one of the biggest upsets of the year, but in my opinion the biggest upset since Mason beat PSU. We should be very proud.

- I don't remember saying Iowa would be double digit favorites - maybe I did...oops!

- I have no idea what my thoughts were pre-2011 or 2012.

In the end congratulations to Maxx! Happy Holidays and here's to the Gophers continuing to prove me wrong until the end of time!
 



While Maxx Williams is perhaps my favorite Gopher TE of all time and I think the sky is the limit for him, I honestly don't see this being a huge blow to our offense. Maxx did make some spectacular catches this year, but it also seemed that a lot of his catches were him just running crossing routes, stops, or flats and not being guarded tightly. I think those plays will easily be made up for by our other TEs. Maxx also benefited in a sense that our WRs were pretty poor this year, so he was a safety valve for Leidner. If we can get improved WR play (which I expect), I think we will be just fine.
 

This is a huge blow if true. He was one of the two difference makers on a average offense. Potential and production are vastly different.
 

This is why I love GopherHole:

"Max is leaving. We won't win 6 games next year. We're screwed."

"Max is leaving. He's good, but it won't have any impact on production."


The truth is almost always somewhere in the middle. It will hurt, but one or MORE guys will step up.
 

This is a big loss but it also represents progress for the program just like Hageman and Vereen being drafted last year. I expect early season challenges for Leidner and the offense which hopefully get ironed out, but we are losing a major talent who represented a Harvin like safety valve to our inconsistent quarterback.
 



DrSwerve1978 said:
We have pretty good depth at TE. I am more worried about BBC and/or Eric Murray declaring.
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EM31 was a risk to declare early in the year, but struggled a bit in the second half of the year. BBC was the better player in the second half. Both will be NFL draft picks --- in 2016.
 

It's the right decision for Williams. He's capitalizing on a good season, so it's impossible to fault him for taking his chances in the NFL. Whether he'll actually succeed at the next level is a good question, one I don't want to post my feelings on because I'll be attacked by the Maxx fanatics on this board.

William's leaving early may actually turn out to be a positive for the Gophers. It may help in recruiting and program perception around the country. And I don't think we should be concerned with the TE depth on our team, there's a lot of talent there.
 

Parents are saying he hasn't made a decision, but I'm sure that's just to take pressure off for next five days. If he's the # 1 TE on the board he should go pro.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Hope he does and goes high. That would be great for recruiting and the program
 

I suspect the conversation revolved around whether he'll be in the top two or three TEs drafted this year vs waiting until 2016 when there are allegedly better TEs coming out. Maxx may have been swayed by the dollar figures. In 2014 the 30th pick had a contract worth roughly 4 million more over 4 years than the 60th pick, and the signing bonus was about double. Even a low 2nd, high 3rd rounder will earn in the neighborhood of 3.5-4.5 million over 4 years.

I might be crazy but I don't see him going in the first. He is a spectacular receiver but NFL guys (some) will look at the spotty blocking, the dumb penalties, etc. I don't think it's as cut and dried as some think he'll be the first off the board.
 

He is forbidden to turn pro until he holds up the Axe.
 


What can we expect out of Duke? I haven't heard anything about him but I know he was injured this year.
 

dannygopher9100 said:
What can we expect out of Duke? I haven't heard anything about him but I know he was injured this year.
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Only time will tell but had a fantastic spring practice. I know they were expected big things from him but then he got hurt at the beginning of fall practice. He is about 250 lbs. and is 6'4" tall. He is certainly a player that I will be watching this spring to see where he is with his development.

P.S. He is a good example of why Kill recruit QBs. It is because they are the best athlete on the team. He then finds a way to get that talent on the field. One of Jerry's many attributes.
 

The Goofy Gopher said:
While Maxx Williams is perhaps my favorite Gopher TE of all time and I think the sky is the limit for him, I honestly don't see this being a huge blow to our offense. Maxx did make some spectacular catches this year, but it also seemed that a lot of his catches were him just running crossing routes, stops, or flats and not being guarded tightly. I think those plays will easily be made up for by our other TEs. Maxx also benefited in a sense that our WRs were pretty poor this year, so he was a safety valve for Leidner. If we can get improved WR play (which I expect), I think we will be just fine.
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Good point....I mean it isn't like he had nearly a third or our passing yards and around 70% of our passing TD's. And sure he is apparently good enough to go pro as a redshirt sophomore but I am sure we will have no trouble just putting someone in his place that will be just as good. I mean top flight NFL talent just grows on trees around here.

Look, any player can be replaced but pretending like it won't be hard to replace an NFL caliber TE is foolish. If Maxx does go pro this is a massive blow to an already weak passing game. There are a lot of young guys on the roster at WR and TE but we have no clue how well any of them are going to perform when the lights go on. Will be very interesting to watch the position battles as they shape up in the spring and fall.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Good point....I mean it isn't like he had nearly a third or our passing yards and around 70% of our passing TD's. And sure he is apparently good enough to go pro as a redshirt sophomore but I am sure we will have no trouble just putting someone in his place that will be just as good. I mean top flight NFL talent just grows on trees around here.

Look, any player can be replaced but pretending like it won't be hard to replace an NFL caliber TE is foolish. If Maxx does go pro this is a massive blow to an already weak passing game. There are a lot of young guys on the roster at WR and TE but we have no clue how well any of them are going to perform when the lights go on. Will be very interesting to watch the position battles as they shape up in the spring and fall.
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Yup. Maxx is a major mismatch for most LBs. Hard to find players with his speed, route running ability, and pass catching ability. His ability to get open and make spectacular catches probably won us a few games. Off the top of my head......he had the go ahead TD against Indiana last year.

He won't be easily replaced. Hoping that he'll come back for another year.
 


die hard gopher said:
Besides hands and body control Duke is every bit the TE Maxx is particularly with his size and athleticism.
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First time/Long time. Finally decided to make an account a few days ago to pose some questions to fellow Citrus Bowl travlers. Unfortunately, I can't let this go unsaid, and my first post must be this:

The quoted line is extremely preposterous.

Hands and body control are what separate great TEs from the rest. Everyone playing in the power 5 has size and athleticism. Literally everyone, at every position. That's how you become a power 5 football player. How many 5.00 40's, or 5'10" 195 pounds (or both), do you see at the TE position these days? I mean, come on. Every TE in a power 5 conference is every bit the TE Williams is, if you throw out the ability to make challenging catches (give or take a hundreth or two on the 40).

Also, Duke is likely going a very long time without practice. He basically has to break in a new ACL and learn how to run on it. Frankly, I'd be pretty surprised if he is one of the top two TEs on the depth chart to open the 2015 season. There will be handful of TEs with a lot of valuable big-game experience, will have spent much more time building a rapport with Mitch, and Gibson is coming in pretty highly touted. Duke had some nice spring practices before blowing his knee, and now he's at the front of the line, and will adequately replace the best TE in the country (arguably)? You really think that is a likely scenario (serious questions, not being a total smart ass)?

I'm guessing we'll revisit your certainty on Gentry, Holland, and Jones in the near future, and it won't be to say you were right. There is no guarantee that any of them so much as break a sweat next year, let alone be "outstanding" weapons. Historically, there is an extremely small chance that it happens for all three of them, or even two of them. Such certainty from a Gopher fan is surprising, especially considering some of the recruits from '09-'12.

Talk about counting chickens.

That said, I'm not overly worried about replacing him if he leaves. As many have said, it will likely be more beneficial to the program to have him drafted in the 2nd round, rather than stick around and damage his draft-stock.

End of rant. Feels good to get that out.
 

die hard gopher leads this site in preposterous statements.

my personal favorite for 2014 was "TCU is a descending program"
 

I think what he's saying is there is hope of a more balanced attack going forward, thus losing Maxx won't hurt quite so much. Not many teams can reload All-Americans.

With the simplicity of this offense it's realistic to look at moving parts, the caliber of players we're losing for example at WR and surmise the incoming freshmen players and returners Woli and Maye, will be at least somewhat better and take some of the production Maxx had this season. If not, the recruiting prowess of Jerry and Co. needs to be rexamined.

We have a good FB, we have some good offensive linemen with potential, we have a potentially good to great RB corp. Leidner is making baby steps, believe it or not. I'm optimistic. Losing a great player in Maxx doesn't mean we're all of a sudden a 5 or 6 win team instead of 8 or 9 next year.
 

BarnBoy said:
This is why I love GopherHole:

"Max is leaving. We won't win 6 games next year. We're screwed."

"Max is leaving. He's good, but it won't have any impact on production."


The truth is almost always somewhere in the middle. It will hurt, but one or MORE guys will step up.
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I think we can all agree that just like Don Lucia learned, you have to recruit four year players to be successful.
 

Maxx may end up being the greatest pass-catching TE in Gopher history. No one is going to replace him next year, but that doesn't mean we're going to go from 8-9 wins to 6 and that the passing game can't be better. We still have a good TE group (3 guys that played this year - Plsek, Lingen, Wozniak; 2 with lots of potential - Duke, Gibson), we have 4 redshirt freshman WRs that will be playing, Jones, Wolitarsky, and Maye will be back, and Mitch should be better. And if Mitch isn't, we will eventually have other viable options.

Hageman is the perfect example to compare to Maxx. No one this year "replaced" Rashede, but I would argue our D-line was better as our depth and recruiting continued to improve.
 

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