Anyone who can confirm/deny this?

[Buffarino]

Really, that's your thought process? The whole reason they moved him to FB is because THE GUYS BEHIND HIM BEAT HIM OUT. It's not like the coaches just up and decided to move him to FB for the sake of moving him. They moved him because he'd already lost the job!

How could anyone possibly have beaten him out? Kai started the bowl game and then at the start of spring practice he got moved to FB. The coaches moved him because they believed the guys behind him would be better, but nodoby has proven that on the field yet (you know, the one place it matters). They took a proven performer off the field in the name of potential.

I know exactly why they did it. I just don't agree with it.

 

[Buffarino]

One thing that folks are glossing over is the fact that Kai barely practiced all spring, regardless of position because of his MIP and grades. No matter his position he'd have been buried on the depth chart right now.

True, but I think changing positions probably added to the stress (and poor grades - learning a playbook from scratch at a different position isn't easy).

 

[Buffarino]

Ding

Did you just ding your own post?

 

[Buffarino]

I'v heard he might transfer too. It hasn't happened yet but he has been screwing himself over by not getting the grades to practice and I don't think he has a great attitude. He did not play in spring game because of these reasons and it really pissed him off. If he leaves that would leave only 6? scholarship WRs on the team (Williams, McKnight, Simas, J-Fly, Blackmon, Vigo) in the fall, two of whom are true frosh. On the positive side this could help land some top tier receivers like Shaquelle Evans, Keenan Davis, Bryce McNeal ect.

Celestine played in the spring game. He didn't do much, but he played.

 

[Buffarino]

BTW, for everyone here that thinks I've turned into JimmyBuff, it's not that at all. I still have a ton of faith in the coaches in Boulder. And I'm sure the guys behind Kai really are going to be good. I just hate to see a proven performer get benched in the name of potential. I can name a ton of guys with huge potential who never lived up to it. And conversely, I can name a ton of guys who didn't have that huge upside who were great players at CU.

What matters is the play on the field, not potential.

 

[Duff Man]

BTW, for everyone here that thinks I've turned into JimmyBuff, it's not that at all. I still have a ton of faith in the coaches in Boulder. And I'm sure the guys behind Kai really are going to be good. I just hate to see a proven performer get benched in the name of potential. I can name a ton of guys with huge potential who never lived up to it. And conversely, I can name a ton of guys who didn't have that huge upside who were great players at CU.

What matters is the play on the field, not potential.

Quiet Jimmy2.

 

[sackman]

Quiet Jimmy2.

I prefer J-squared. (for Jimmy Jr). :thumbsup:

 

[Duff Man]

I prefer J-squared. (for Jimmy Jr). :thumbsup:

I like it.:smile2:

 

[jrod212]

j^2

 

[Sexton Hardcastle]

One thing that folks are glossing over is the fact that Kai barely practiced all spring, regardless of position because of his MIP and grades. No matter his position he'd have been buried on the depth chart right now.

:yeahthat:
Mo Cantrell had a very good spring imo. In case anyone here cared.:smile2:

 

[SanDiegoBuff]

How could anyone possibly have beaten him out? Kai started the bowl game and then at the start of spring practice he got moved to FB. The coaches moved him because they believed the guys behind him would be better, but nodoby has proven that on the field yet (you know, the one place it matters). They took a proven performer off the field in the name of potential.

I know exactly why they did it. I just don't agree with it.

It's easy, just because someone didn't beat him out on the field, doesn't mean he wasn't beat out for the job. When the coaches look at performance off the field, in the classroom, offseason workout, and don't forget that these guys run unofficial practices with each other and the team throughout the offseason.

Everyone is also glossing over Kai's pass protection, which really wasn't the best, we all remember him for his pulling and HUGE hits run blocking.

 

[SD Buff]

How could anyone possibly have beaten him out?

B/C the kids that were passing him by were RS. And one was simply ineligible.

My fault for continuing to read these Kai threads. And not going to start bashing the kid.

But damn...I am not losing a second of sleep over this. Not in the least.

As for Celestine- Keesy has it right. Kid is not endearing himself to anyone right now and is digging himself a nice size hole if he does decide to stick it out.

 

[jjbuffs13]

:yeahthat:
Mo Cantrell had a very good spring imo. In case anyone here cared.:smile2:

I agree, after watching him during the first few practices the kid couldnt catch a cold, during the spring game, I believe he had a TD reception. He made great progress and should be a great assest for the offense this year.

 

[Junction]

Did you just "Ding" yourself????

Yes, because I was not yelling loud enough to be heard so I had to call attention to myself somehow.:smile2:

Did you just ding your own post?

Asked and answered... :smile2:

This whole turn of events is incredibly discouraging, IMO. In my mind, a player that earns Freshman All-American honors deserves the right to defend their job the next year. They shouldn't be forced into a radical position change, and it shouldn't be assumed somebody is going to beat them out. In my mind, the program is built on guys who perform. Kai performed last season. In the long run, Hawk may have been doing Kai a favor by getting him away from a position he was never going to be big enough for at the next level. But Hawk is coaching at this level, not the next. And Kai was a good ****ing guard AT THIS LEVEL. Why screw with that until guys like MTM are at least on campus and you have a chance to see head-to-head competition? I just don't get it. Like going for it on fourth down ad nauseum, like running the same gimmicky handoff to the slot guy play 10 times a game, it seems to me like Hawk got just a little too cute with this one. I think it's a habit left over from coaching at a program where trying to trick the opponent was the only chance he had of competing with Big XII caliber teams. To me, it's an adjustment he has really got to make... :huh:

Best of luck wherever you end up, Kai (unless it's *ebraska, UTerus, KjSU or some other ****hole like that... :sad1

 

[Buffarino]

This whole turn of events is incredibly discouraging, IMO. In my mind, a player that earns Freshman All-American honors deserves the right to defend their job the next year. They shouldn't be forced into a radical position change, and it shouldn't be assumed somebody is going to beat them out. In my mind, the program is built on guys who perform. Kai performed last season. In the long run, Hawk may have been doing Kai a favor by getting him away from a position he was never going to be big enough for at the next level. But Hawk is coaching at this level, not the next. And Kai was a good ****ing guard AT THIS LEVEL. Why screw with that until guys like MTM are at least on campus and you have a chance to see head-to-head competition? I just don't get it. Like going for it on fourth down ad nauseum, like running the same gimmicky handoff to the slot guy play 10 times a game, it seems to me like Hawk got just a little too cute with this one. I think it's a habit left over from coaching at a program where trying to trick the opponent was the only chance he had of competing with Big XII caliber teams. To me, it's an adjustment he has really got to make... :huh:

Best of luck wherever you end up, Kai (unless it's *ebraska, UTerus, KjSU or some other ****hole like that... :sad1

My feelings exactly.

I hope Kai can kick some Pac 10/MWC/WAC ass.

 

[SD Buff]

Don't know why some are completely harping on the position change. There is so much more to the story as to why he is moving on.

And guess everyone is going to have to agree to disagree. An ALL BIG XII freshman who had some decent games and not so decent games was asked to move to a position that he is

a. better suited to play.
b. would help the team out in the long run.

Oh well.... we will be just fine with the OGs already on campus going forward. Not to mention the kids that will be coming in.

 

[NW Buff]

For all of those that harp on the position change, do any of you know that he was forcedto change positions? I do not know Hawkins personally but it seems really unlikely that he would go to a player and say, "You need to move to FB or I'm gonna sit you on the bench."

I just don't see it.

Second point... It seems to me that it is entirely possible that the coaching staff saw the writing on the wall and moved him to get other players reps on the OL. Trouble adjusting to college life away from home, grades slipping, etc. I have no evidence of this, but, as others have pointed out, Kai could not have practiced much this spring regardless of what position he played.

 

[Duff Man]

I'm amazed this thread has reached 8 pages.

 

[Buffarino]

I'm amazed this thread has reached 8 pages.

I'm amazed you're still sober enough to type.:wink2:

 

[Junction]

Don't know why some are completely harping on the position change. There is so much more to the story as to why he is moving on.

For all of those that harp on the position change, do any of you know that he was forcedto change positions?

''Well, there's a lot of family issues,'' Maiava said, declining to go into detail. ''I just feel like the closer I can get to home, I will feel a lot better and my family will feel a lot better. The position change also definitely had a lot to do with it — it didn't work out the way I was hoping and the way the coaches were hoping it would work out.''

I guess this would be why some of us are "harping" on the position change. Because Kai himself said it had a lot to do with the decision, and even though he may not have been "forced" to change, it doesn't sound at all like he felt there was a chance of undoing it...

 

[SanDiegoBuff]

I guess this would be why some of us are "harping" on the position change. Because Kai himself said it had a lot to do with the decision, and even though he may not have been "forced" to change, it doesn't sound at all like he felt there was a chance of undoing it...

Because other players on the team showed themselves to be better and beat him out of his position.

 

[SuperiorBuff]

I guess this would be why some of us are "harping" on the position change. Because Kai himself said it had a lot to do with the decision, and even though he may not have been "forced" to change, it doesn't sound at all like he felt there was a chance of undoing it...

Reading between the lines in his interview, he thinks the position change had a lot to do with his playing time in spring practice which had a lot to do with his wanting to transfer. I don't know the kid but it seems to me that if he evaluated the spring semester and his grades/alcohol issue he might see that there were some compound issues behind his lack of participation.

If he truly feels like he didn't get a fair shake then I feel bad for him. I still wish him the best wherever he goes.

 

[Buffarino]

Because other players on the team showed themselves to be better and beat him out of his position.

And when was that? Sometime between the bowl game and spring practice?

 

[jjbuffs13]

And just think....had Kai only been 4 inches taller, we wouldnt be having this conversation

 

[Junction]

Because other players on the team showed themselves to be better and beat him out of his position.

During the offseason?? He started the bowl game and the move was announced before the spring started? How the hell did he get beaten out during the offseason????

 

[Highflyer]

During the offseason?? He started the bowl game and the move was announced before the spring started? How the hell did he get beaten out during the offseason????

Not that this was the case, but is it within the realm of possibility that one of the RS Freshmen did either surpass him or show the coaches more during bowl prep than Kai, but did not pull the RS for one game? I don't think it's too much of reach to think that Iltis, Daniels, Bahr, etc could have shown the coaches what they were looking for.

 

[Junction]

Not that this was the case, but is it within the realm of possibility that one of the RS Freshmen did either surpass him or show the coaches more during bowl prep than Kai, but did not pull the RS for one game? I don't think it's too much of reach to think that Iltis, Daniels, Bahr, etc could have shown the coaches what they were looking for.

That's certainly possible. But if it was only during bowl prep, wouldn't you think that a guy who played as well as Kai did last year might still be held over at the G position through the spring to compete with the up-and-comer, rather than changing his position before the other kid ever played a down?

I guess I'm confused at how many people in this thread (not referring to you, MP) now seem to be proclaiming Kai some kind of scrub who was going to be lucky to travel to road games this season, regardless of what position he was listed at. Trust me, I hope that the position change truly is the byproduct of the fact that we have 2 or 3 freshman all-Americans in waiting for this season and that there simply was no more room for Kai anywhere on the O-Line. But I can't say I'm ready to commit to that theory at this point. And let's face it - as much as I like Hawk and think he is the right coach for this program in the long-term, this would not be the first time that he went Nutty Professor on us.... :huh:

 

[Highflyer]

Junction, as you mentioned, I've not once qualified Kai as a scrub. He played as well as you can hope for as a true frosh. I do think that his ceiling is lower than some of the other OLmen, not that Kai is a bad player. We did see him wear down as the year went on but he was a starter from OU on so that counts for something. The coaches may have made a huge blunder here, time will tell. The thing that gets me is that there are some people laying all the blame at the feet of the coaches and none with the player, or acknowledging that some of the other OLmen might have surpassed Kai by the coaches evaluations.

Kai Maiava is the kind of tenacious player you want on your team. Unfortunately, due to issues both related and unrelated to football, he's no longer going to be a buff. On this sentiment I think we can all agree.

 

[Junction]

Junction, as you mentioned, I've not once qualified Kai as a scrub. He played as well as you can hope for as a true frosh. I do think that his ceiling is lower than some of the other OLmen, not that Kai is a bad player. We did see him wear down as the year went on but he was a starter from OU on so that counts for something. The coaches may have made a huge blunder here, time will tell. The thing that gets me is that there are some people laying all the blame at the feet of the coaches and none with the player, or acknowledging that some of the other OLmen might have surpassed Kai by the coaches evaluations.

Kai Maiava is the kind of tenacious player you want on your team. Unfortunately, due to issues both related and unrelated to football, he's no longer going to be a buff. On this sentiment I think we can all agree.

I definitely can agree on that. And I was really looking forward to seeing Kai as a fullback. I don't think there was no merit to the move. I just have a problem with the idea that it was a move that HAD to be made because Kai had lost his spot at G over the offseason. I think he had shown too much value as a G as a freshman for this to be a move that HAD to be made. Couple that with the fact that Kai is now saying that the fact that move wasn't working out was a significant factor in his decision to transfer, and it just doesn't seem to me that it was handled as well as it could have been... It was a gamble, and it doesn't seem to have paid off at all. :sad1:

I absolutely don't mean to lay all the blame on the coaches, though. As has been pointed out, if Kai was unhappy with his field time this spring, he needs to look at his own issues, in and out of the classroom, at least as much as he needs to look at the position switch. Plus, it was his choice to leave over playing time issues. I have no doubt that the coaches would have been more than happy to have him on the team, at whatever position, whether or not he was starter caliber wherever he was playing. It is his choice to look for a place where he thinks he will play more, and I wish him luck on that.

On a more general note, I think we're going to see more kids transferring over lack of playing time over the next 2-3 years. I'm sure Hawk and his staff were able to land some recruits their first couple classes with the promise of early playing time, considering how thin the roster was at many positions. As good as the last couple classes have been, especially this last one, that playing time won't materialize for many of those early recruits, or will go away for kids who had been getting it. Some of them will choose to leave searching for that same playing time elsewhere. When that happens (and it may be at play with Kai as some are speculating), that is actually a very healthy sign for the program...

 

[FlatironsBuff]

Best of luck wherever you end up, Kai (unless it's *ebraska, UTerus, KjSU or some other ****hole like that... :sad1

Won't be Kneebraska. The only thing on the field that is 300lbs and 6 foot tall are the cheerleaders at Kneebraska...........:wink2: