Willie Gaines made quite a few headlines this past season when he went viral for speaking out against Coach Prime and the coaching staff for not getting enough playing time. In a post on Instagram he expressed his frustration with the following post.
He later went onto a livestream and ranted for more than 12 minutes complaining about his situation. He claimed that he was going to everything, doing everything he was supposed to do, and felt that his skillset was too good to not be contributing more to the team. He also talked a lot about his daughter and having to take care of her.
If you’d like to see the video, click here. Warning there is quite a bit of language.
Gaines was later asked to respond to his comments, and he backtracked and said it was nothing against Coach Prime or any single individual, but rather an accumulation of frustration that came out and was taken in a way worse than it was meant to be.
Willie Gaines was a Coach Prime Product
Willie Gaines originally played for Coach Prime at Jackson State and then followed his coach last year when he came over to Colorado. Many in the media felt that move by Gaines was a bit ambitious since players like Travis Hunter were clearly going to get plenty of reps.
Willie Gaines received offers last year from multiple G5 schools, and it may have been best to have gone there, rather than follow Deion Sanders to Colorado. During the 2022 season he played in 13 games and registered 27 receptions, 446 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. While solid stats, normally for a player at the FCS level to make it at the P5 level, they need to double those numbers.
Colorado is Reloading at WR
Willie Gaines leaving the team should come as no surprise as the Buff’s have already added three receivers from the transfer portal, Will Sheppard (Vanderbilt), Terrell Timmons Jr. (N.C. State) and Cordale Russell (TCU).
Last season, Colorado relied heavily on two-way player Travis Hunter and Xavier Weaver. This year, Coach Prime likely will want to have more weapons and resources. As great of a story that Travis Hunter was last year, no coach wants to have to play players on both sides of the ball, especially as often as Hunter was needed.
Where will Gaines End Up?
There is a saying that goes “No press is bad press”. Generally, that is actually true, but this may be one of the rare cases where it is not. The fact that Willie Gaines made significantly more headlines for his off-the-field comments than he did his play on the field may not end up boding to well.
Still, Gaines is known for his speed, and a team who is looking for a down the field receiver could end up picking him up. In all likelihood, he will end up at a G5 school somewhere and have the opportunity to show out and have a great season.
Another possibility is that Willie Gaines will end up finding a spot with a team who loses their own receivers to the transfer portal. In today’s era of every team losing players to the portal, Gaines may find himself in a lucky spot where a team is looking for a one year player to make a difference.
Prediction: Being from Cocoa, Florida, a good fit seems like a school on the rise such as South Florida or Florida Atlantic
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