Cade Mays was once considered a lock to Tennessee. He is the son of a former Vol and plays high school football in the Vols’ back yard in Knoxville. Mays was the first player to commit to Tennessee’s 2018 class, and he was widely considered to be “full Vol” for his entire recruitment.
But Tuesday saw the unthinkable happen.
Mays took to Twitter to announce that he is decommitting from the Vols in the 2018 recruiting class. Mays is a five-star offensive lineman who is rated as the No. 15 overall player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Mays had been committed to Tennessee since July of 2015 back even before recruiting sites had rated the 2018 class of prospects.
“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Please respect my decision. pic.twitter.com/ANvoIpP1Bf
— Cade Mays (@_mayc2) November 7, 2017
In his Twitter post, Mays declined to comment on whether or not he is still considering Tennessee for his choice of enrollment in the future. He simply stated that he is decommitting and thanked everyone he had come in contact with at UT and thanked his family as well.
Mays was Tennessee’s highest-rated commitment in the 2018 class, and as stated above, he was considered a lock to the Vols ever since he committed over two years ago.
Speculation had arisen over the past month or so that Mays was wavering on his commitment with Tennessee. With the Vols’ 2017 season going downhill quickly and head coach Butch Jones’ job looking less and less secure after every passing day, Mays was allegedly weighing his options and considering looking elsewhere.
Now those rumors have been proven true, and the biggest piece in Tennessee’s 2018 recruiting class is officially back on the market.
Mays holds offers from Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, and many other top-tier schools across the country. His departure leaves the Vols with just 19 commitments in their 2018 class, and now that class doesn’t have a five-star atop the list.
2 Responses
Pretty sure that Mr Mays really want to be a #VFL but the current scenario has chased him off. Critical for Currie to get a coach in place by Dec 1 to try and right the train for this class signing (in Dec) especially.
Can a recruit “recommit” after decommitting?