[5] Mayle was not a good student, however, and although he graduated high school in 2009 his grades were so poor that he was not eligible under NCAA rules to play sports at a four-year college or university.

[10] When his mother suffered an accident in the summer of 2010,[7] Mayle took a year off from school to care for her[5] and worked several jobs to earn income.

[7] During his year off from school, Mayle decided to give up basketball for football, convinced it would get him farther in life.

Deciding he would compete at the highest level possible, he began lifting weights to transform his body from the lean form required for basketball into the much more muscular physique needed for football while he continued to care for his mother.

[6][9] Mayle's focus on football could waver at times, and he too often allowed his athleticism compensate for skill or knowledge about the defense.

[9] Determined to move up to a four-year college, Mayle continued to get good grades and took a heavy 20-credit course load in the spring of 2013 to make him eligible under NCAA rules.

[9] One of his former high school football coaches, Terry Stark, called his physical transformation "incredible".

He believed his superior athleticism was enough to allow him to win games,[8] and he dismissed the technical and skill-building side of football.

[7] The 2013 season started slowly for Mayle due to his difficulty adjusting to the far more competitive football world at WSU.

[3] At the end of the 2013 season, WSU applied for and was granted a waiver by the NCAA, giving Mayle another year of college football eligibility.

At the end of the season, he was appointed to the All-Pac-12 Second Team[11] and Sports Illustrated magazine named him an All-America honorable mention.

[12] CBS Sports analyst Rob Rang said in November 2014 that he expected Mayle to be picked in the fourth or fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Rang called him "a pretty spectacular athlete", but felt he ran routes a little sloppily and occasionally lost his focus on the ball.

Physicians determined Mayle broke his thumb while playing in the Senior Bowl in January, but that the injury was not properly diagnosed until NFL rookie mini-camp.

[14] Although he was a fourth round pick and still in his first season, Mayle was one of the Browns' final cuts during training camp on September 5, 2015.

[18][19] He was promoted to the active roster on November 16, after tight end Geoff Swaim was lost for the season with an injury.

[20] He was used on special teams and to contribute as a blocker in the running game from his wide receiver position, but struggled with penalties.

He was waived on December 29, to make room for offensive lineman Ryan Seymour, who was needed for depth purposes in the last game of the season, in order to rest some of the starters for the postseason play.