A former Tennessee football commit, Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Cade Mays of Knoxville, Tenn. plans to join his brother Cooper with the Volunteers.
In 2017, Cade Mays was a five-star local legacy player who had been committed to Tennessee football throughout the year. But as the Vols’ season unraveled under Butch Jones, he decommitted and joined the greatest recruiting class in history hauled in by Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs in 2018.
Now, after starting 11 games and playing all 14 of them in 2019 as a sophomore, Mays appears to be heading back to Rocky Top. The 6’6″ 318-pound Knoxville Catholic High School product has entered the transfer portal.
Mays plans to transfer back to Tennessee football, according to Mark Schlabach of ESPN. He rejoins his younger brother, Cooper Mays, a four-star center committed to the Vols for their 2020 recruiting class. The father of the Mays brothers, Kevin Mays, was an All-SEC guard and captain for UT in 1994.
Citing the Athens-Clarke County State Court records, Schlabach reports the family sued the University of Georgia System Board of Regents, the Georgia Athletic Association and others after Kevin Mays’ right pinkie finger was amputated because an accident involving a folding chair at the Bulldogs’ team gala in December 2017. Cade Mays committed to UGA that month.
The lawsuit was filed in December, and Mays is seeking $3 million in damages. According to the Schlabach, claims are that that then-Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who is now head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, picked up the severed finger at the event, and it was then put on ice. However, it couldn’t be reattached at the hospital.
If confirmed, Cade Mays himself would be a huge addition to the Vols. He’ll likely have to sit out 2020 unless he requests an eligibility waiver, which is possible given the lawsuit and the fact that Pittman left. Mays also rejoins his former offensive coordinator, Jim Chaney, who was with UGA from 2016 to 2018 before going back to Rocky Top himself.
While he has played every position, Mays most commonly started at guard. With his arrival, Tennessee football has a chance to be dangerous on the line in 2021, especially if he sits out this year due to the NCAA eligibility rules.
That’s because Mays could step in at a spot where Trey Smith left off, his brother is already being groomed to replace Brandon Kennedy at center, Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright will both be on the outside, and Jerome Carvin and K’Rojhn Calbert will both likely be back to help out on the interior as well.
Simply put, Mays gives UT an amazing future up front. Whether or not his transfer is connected to the lawsuit is up for debate. However, it’s crazy to think about something like that happening. Either way, Jeremy Pruitt bringing somebody back home that Butch Jones lost out on is a major plus for everybody in Vol Nation.