How Tennessee football can offset Cade Mays going pro

There’s been a lot of good news surrounding Tennessee football when it comes to returning talent. However, expectations were always low for Cade Mays to return, and a couple of recent news bits seem to confirm he’s gone.

Mays, who transferred to UT and joined the program in 2020 after two years with the Georgia Bulldogs, recently said in an interview that he would return for half a million in NIL money. Such a demand for an offensive lineman already seemed like a lot of money.

On Saturday, though, the NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl announced that Mays would take part in the game. The NFLPA bowl only brings in draft eligible players, and they announced the news surrounding Mays on Twitter.

This seems to make it clear that Tennessee football won’t have Mays back next year. After all, the bowl game is for players who are entering the NFL Draft. Make no mistake, Mays is a big loss and was a valuable blocker on the right side of the line. However, Josh Heupel has built enough depth to offset him leaving.

Let’s start with K’Rojhn Calbert. Unless he says otherwise, it’s safe to assume Calbert is coming back. He has one more year of eligibility left, and he saw limited action this year, so it makes all the sense in the world for him to come back.

Before battling injuries, Calbert had developed as a solid tackle under Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney. You have to think he’d be able to handle the same roles in Heupel’s system, and with so much experience, the 6’5″ 325-pound blocker could thrive opposite Darnell Wright next year.

One thing that can make Calbert more effective at offsetting Mays’ departure is the fact that Jerome Carvin announced he is coming back. That locks up one of the guard spots, which Calbert may have had to help out at had Carvin not made that move.

Beyond Calbert, though, Tennessee football still has Florida Gators transfer Gerald Mincey joining the program. Mincey, a three-star across the board from the 2020 recruiting class, has two years of college experience practicing in a spread offense and mostly did his work at tackle.

As a result, the Vols should have a solid rotational player in Mincey next year to complement what Wright and Calbert do, assuming they are both back. That alone should allow them to offset Mays’ departure, especially since Calbert was limited this year due to injury. UT is basically gaining two extra players in Calbert and Mays.

Then there’s Dayne Davis. Last spring, Davis was the breakout player as a former walk-on at tackle. He’s now a rotational player at the position, and he’ll be back next year. Taking this into account, Heupel, Alex Golesh and Glen Elarbee can go 2-deep at tackle with at least two seasoned blockers and two guys with tons of potential.

Simply put, despite Mays’ abilities and versatility, Tennessee football should have more than enough to offset his departure, assuming that’s true given all the news. There’s no reason for panic, and the benefits from the guys who have pledged to return significantly outweigh the losses from the guys who appear to be leaving.