Tennessee football: Ranking Vols four 2020 early enrollees by potential

Similar to Dominic Bailey, Tennessee football is beyond loaded at offensive line. On top of that, they are extra loaded in the interior of the line, and that’s in part thanks to the elite guards and centers Jeremy Pruitt brought in for his 2020 class, even if the 2019 class was more elite overall when it came to offensive linemen.

One of those guys is Cooper Mays. An early enrollee and local four-star, the 6’3″ 272-pound legacy player committed two years after his brother, five-star Cade Mays, committed to the Georgia Bulldogs. Cade Mays has now transferred to Rocky Top, and ironically, he could complicate Cooper Mays’ playing time depending on where he plays.

However, Cooper Mays, as we said, plays center. Jerome Carvin backed up Brandon Kennedy there last year, but there is no true backup center behind Kennedy. That means that Mays could come in and immediately be the second string center. Given that fact, being an early enrollee is a great advantage for him, as he could spend time to learn the system.

Taking that into account, while Mays is not likely to start this year, there’s a very good chance he becomes a rotational player specifically due to his unique abilities. Being an early enrollee gives him a major advantage to go with that which is why he’s above Bailey on this list. But his chances of starting are still very slim.