It's not so much the statement's message...

...being rather standard; it's the fact that he relayed the message at all. When I attend wakes and funerals, I don't develop a unique greeting for each family member; I say about the same thing each time. Having been on the receiving side of those occasions (and as an ND alum, of players departing), I appreciate the fact that the statement was made at all. It sure beats no message at all.

And he could have truly valued his teammates and time at ND while deciding that, on balance, it's best for his football career prospects to go somewhere where he has a better prospect of starting.

Let's say that we have a scale of zero to 100, zero representing a lousy scenario and 100 the best one. It's quite possible that Pyne valued the ND experience at 90 (so to speak) but the transfer scenario at 100. That doesn't mean that 90 wasn't pretty good.