For the first time in the Josh Heupel Era, Tennessee football will not have Cooper Mays listed as the starting center on the depth chart.
This has created one of a handful of position battles for fall camp ahead of the Vols’ season-opener vs. Syracuse on Aug. 30. So far during practices, Sam Pendleton, William Satterwhite, Nic Moore and Max Anderson have been seen getting reps at the position.
When offensive line coach Glen Elarbee met with the media, he talked about the departure of Mays and what it means for the position group. The two names he mentioned were the expected two guys who could win the job. Notre Dame transfer Pendleton and returning redshirt-freshman Satterwhite.
“I mean Coop, unbelievable just what he’s able to do mentally and physically. So yeah, it’s a big set of shoes to fill,” Elarbee said. “But I really do think Satt (William Satterwhite) and Sam (Pendleton) both, I mean they’re competing their butts off, man. They’re in extra. They’re working at it. They’re straining in practice. There’s things you got to clean up, but they’re trying to learn every single day. So we’ll be there. That’s who we have as competition. So those guys have to keep fighting, see who gets it to actually go out.”
More From RTI: Why Tennessee Tackle Lance Heard is the ‘Head Coach’ of the Offensive Line
Neither player has experience at the college level as a center, though. Pendleton joins out of Notre Dame where he played guard on Saturdays. He did get some reps at center during practice, though. Satterwhite enters his second year after backing up Mays to start his career.
Head coach Josh Heupel acknowledged that experience can be helpful, but it’s not the deciding factor. Instead, he wants to pick someone who can communicate as well as fulfill the physical obligations.
“I don’t think I ever solely look at the experience of the player,” Heupel said. “Otherwise, you know, your young guys are never going to get an opportunity to get any experience. The ability to communicate at a really high level, get all five guys on the same page, pass protection, run game, the ability to snap it accurately and efficiently, the ability to play with fundamentals and technique. End of the day, offensive line, your center, but you got to get the best five guys on the field that are going to go operate as one. And that’s what you got an opportunity to do. We got competition and I’m looking forward to see that unfold as we get started.”
The feeling right now is that Pendleton is a valid option to be a starter on the line, no matter who is snapping the ball. It just depends on the position. If he isn’t named the starting center, he’ll be an option to be one of the starting guards alongside Arizona transfer Wendell Moe Jr. and redshirt sophomore Sham Umarov.
If Pendelton is the starting center, it’s probably fair to pencil in Moe and Umarov as the two guards.
