Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel kicked off the first week of the Vols’ 2023 regular season with a press conference on Monday afternoon in Knoxville.
Heupel hit several different topics during his nine-minute interview including a comment on the status on Tennessee senior center Cooper Mays. Heupel didn’t reveal too much as Tennessee looks to be taking the wait-and-see approach.
“Yeah, Cooper, we’ll find out here as the week goes on, his availability in this one,” Heupel said.
Tennessee released their week one depth chart on Monday morning which shows Mays as the Vols’ top center followed by Ollie Lane or Dayne Davis. Lane and Davis also show up at backup left guard and right tackle, respectively.
“We’ve had two-and-a-half, three weeks of different guys having an opportunity to play on the interior if he’s not able to go,” Heupel continued on to say. “Feel really confident in those guys.”
Heupel announced that Mays had gone through a “minor procedure” on Wednesday, Aug. 9, during a press conference on the 10th. Less than a week later, on Aug. 16, Heupel relayed a positive update on Mays’ status.
“We believe we will have an opportunity to have him back,” Heupel said about Mays in relation to the season-opener on Aug. 16. “Everything has gone well since he missed training camp and had the issue that he had.”
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It’s hard to read Heupel when it comes to Mays’ status during game week just because of how brief his answer was. That being said, though, this isn’t a bad opportunity to get different guys experience if Mays does wind up missing the first game of the season this Saturday. While a number of different things could happen during week one, Virginia doesn’t necessarily pose a looming threat to Tennessee in Nashville this weekend. ESPN analytics give Tennessee an 87.4 percent chance to win the game as the Vols open up as a 28-point favorite.
Mays, a senior center for Tennessee from Knoxville Catholic, was named a 2023 Preseason All-SEC Second Team selection by Lindy’s, a preseason All-SEC Third Team selection from the coaches and the media, and a preseason All-SEC Fourth Team selection from Athlon and Phil Steele. Additionally, the Tennessee legacy player was recently named to the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List.
