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Washington State defensive end Logan Mayes left the team and will instead transfer to Cal Poly according to a report from Joe Doyle of Cougfan/Scout.com. Britton Ransford of WazzuWatch contacted Mayes who said he could neither confirm nor deny the reports until WSU released a statement. Christian Caple asked Mike Leach after practice and Leach didn't provide much insight saying "he's fine."
Yesterday in the depth chart overview, I noted Mayes was not listed on the two-deep at defensive end. Then, Christian reported Mayes was not in attendance at practice. Now, we know why. Mayes, the son of Cougar legend Rueben Mayes, was entering his junior season. Once thought to be the heir apparent to Travis Long at BUCK, Mayes transitioned to defensive end this fall.
Mayes was recruited to WSU by Paul Wulff and was thrown into the fire as a true freshman. He was used mostly as a situational pass rusher his freshman season, but showed some early promise. He played a bigger role last year, tallying 2-1/2 sacks. The best moment of his Cougar career came in the Apple Cup where his pass rush forced Keith Price to unload the pass which Toni Pole intercepted.
Many had him penciled into the starting BUCK spot this season, but the staff moved him to defensive end with Destiny Vaeao shifting to BUCK. He wasn't going to be a starter at defensive end, although he would have likely factored into the pass rush package. By transferring to Cal Poly, an FCS school, Mayes would be eligible to play immediately.
Mayes came to WSU with a lot of promise. He had a very solid high school career and many expected him to be a vital part of WSU's defense. He was limited at times by injuries and was arrested for a hit-and-run incident this offseason, although that turned out to be fairly minor.
If he is indeed transferring, he will be the second player to leave the program since fall camp began, joining cornerback Rahmel Dockery, Mayes and Dockery were initially thought to be among the gems of the 2011 recruiting class, Wulff's last at WSU.