Minnesota Football: Nationally-ranked center Connor Mayes commits to Gophers

Gopher football head coach Jerry Kill made a splash on Monday as Minnesota landed a verbal commitment from one of the top centers in the country.

Connor Mayes, a four-star recruit from Van Alstyne High School in Texas, committed to the Gophers after scouting offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Texas Christian University and Texas A&M among others.

At 6-foot-5 and 330-pounds, Mayes is the No. 1 center in the Class of 2014 according to Scout.com and No. 5 by Rivals.

Mayes is Kill’s fifth recruit in the Class of 2014 and the second commitment in the last few days. Over the weekend, tight end recruit Gaelin Elmore of Somerset, Wisc. committed to the Gophers.

Along with Mayes and Elmore, Minnesota’s Class of 2014 also boosts the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota, running back Jeff Jones of Washburn High School in Minneapolis. Jones is a four-star recruit who verbally committed in February although there have recently been rumors that he may be looking to decommit.

Kill has been doing a solid job of recruiting both locally and nationally in his third-year as head coach. To some degree, Kill has won recruiting battles on three fronts: in Minnesota, with Jones. In Wisconsin, with Elmore and in football-rich Texas with Mayes.

Other recruits that make up the Class of 2014 include Kansas quarterback Dimonic McKinzy and Chicago defensive tackle Steven Richardson.

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