MINNEAPOLIS -- Gophers football coach Jerry Kill confirmed Tuesday that sophomore wide receiver Andre McDonald will not play for Minnesota this season.
McDonald missed most of fall camp after violating an unspecified team rule, the latest in a number of off-the-field incidents for the sophomore from Hopkins. He also was suspended prior to the Gophers' bowl game against Texas Tech and missed all of spring practices for personal reasons.
"Right now, he's not going to play for us this semester," Kill said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. "That's all I'll say on that."
Minnesota had high hopes last year for McDonald after the former All-State wideout decommitted from Vanderbilt to instead play for his home state. As a true freshman, though, McDonald made little impact. He caught 10 passes for 121 yards in eight games. Still, the Gophers were expecting him to bolster a thin wide receiver corps.
Now that won't be the case, as McDonald's strange saga takes another turn.
Kill made note of another off-the-field issue in his press conference, stating that sophomore running back Rodrick Williams Jr. did not play in the first half of Thursday's game against UNLV because he was late to a team meeting.
Williams' action was limited in the win over the Rebels, as he had just four carries for 13 yards in the second half. Those numbers should increase Saturday against New Mexico State, especially if starter Donnell Kirkwood (ankle) is not able to play.
As a true freshman last year, Williams emerged as another option behind Kirkwood. He carried the ball 57 times for 261 yards and found the end zone twice.
Kill praises TE Williams: Redshirt freshman tight end Maxx Williams caught just one pass in Thursday's win, but it was a big one. It was his first college catch and happened to be in the end zone to give Minnesota a 16-13 lead before halftime.
There were other things Williams did well that Kill noted, including setting a block to help spring kick returner Marcus Jones for a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the second half. After just one game, it's clear that Kill is high on the 6-foot-4, 254-pound freshman from Waconia.
"He's gifted," Kill said. "When he came out of high school, he was 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and he was a quarterback. Now he's almost 6-foot-5, 255 and still runs like a quarterback. He's a good mismatch on people and he made a great catch in the end zone."
Williams comes from an athletic family and has plenty of football bloodlines. His father, Brian, played for the Gophers was drafted by the New York Giants and played in the NFL from 1989-99 as a center.
Maxx Williams was five years old during his dad's final season with the Giants and doesn't remember much of his father's playing career, although he does recall watching games from the stands and dreaming of emulating his dad.
"That's always been my goal in life is to follow in his shoes," Williams said. "I went to practice with him every off day, so that was nice being around the environment. It's all I ever wanted to do. I knew that's what he did and that's what I want to do."
Williams and Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson faced off three times during their high school days, with Nelson's Mankato West squad getting the best of Williams' Waconia team all three times. Even back then, the two had a mutual admiration for each other's abilities.
When Mankato West ended Waconia's season in 2011 -- and therefore Williams' high school career -- Nelson came up to Williams after the game to tell his future teammate that they about to do something special at Minnesota.
Two years later, that connection finally took place as Nelson hit Williams for his first career touchdown.
"Everybody's known since Maxx has been here that he's a big athletic target," Nelson said. "He's one of the better receiving tight ends as well. He's a playmaker and I think we're really looking forward to using him a lot in this offense."
Kill honors late Gary Tinsley: As his press conference wrapped up Tuesday, Kill took a moment to bring attention to a cause near and dear to him. The Gophers are hosting an auction in honor of the late Gary Tinsley, a linebacker who died suddenly last April.
Last year, a scholarship fund in Tinsley's honor helped raise money for 14 scholarships for students at the College of Education and Human Development. This year's auction runs through Sept. 18. More information can be found here, while a list of nearly 100 items up for auction can be viewed here.
"It's a great cause," Kill said. "It's giving back to students that need scholarship money, so it's a great thing."
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