Tennessee junior offensive lineman Cade Mays was cleared to play football this season on Wednesday afternoon when the SEC announced that it had approved a number of transfer requests.
Ecstatic from the news, Mays quickly took to Twitter to thank all of those involved who helped him get eligible.
“Today is a great day for all of college athletics,” Mays wrote. “First off I would like to thank Coach Pruitt, Coach Fulmer, Chancellor Plowman, and my attorney Greg Issacs. All of these individuals have spent ample amounts of time fighting for my eligibility to make this season a reality for me.
“Thank you to my teammates. Without your guys support this wouldn’t be possible. I love each and everyone of y’all and am thankful to be a part of the family. Thank you to my friends and Vol Nation for being relentless in our pursuit for my eligibility! You guys made your voice heard and sent a powerful message for all to hear. God is good! Go Vols!!”
Let’s ride. pic.twitter.com/Xx28bjEBhT
— Cade Mays (@cade_mays) September 30, 2020
Mays joined his little brother, Cooper, on campus for the spring semester after Tennessee officially announced the addition of the oldest Mays brother on Jan. 9. The younger Mays brother signed with the Vols during the early signing period as a four-star center out of Knoxville Catholic High School. Cade Mays played at Knoxville Catholic as well, but signed with Georgia out of high school following the firing of Butch Jones. Mays was once committed to the Vols but decommitted prior to Jones’ firing.
Mays was ranked the No. 22 overall player in the class of 2018 according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He was considered the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee and the No. 3 offensive tackle in the country.
At Georgia, Mays started six games at right guard, two at right tackle, two at left guard, and one at left tackle as a sophomore this past season, and he even played at center in the Bulldogs’ match-up with Missouri. Mays played in all 14 games this season after playing in 11 of 14 games as a true freshman a season ago. He was named to the coaches’ All-SEC Freshman team in 2018 and was a Freshman All-American as well.
Cade and Cooper’s father, Kevin Mays, played for Tennessee from 1991-1994. He was an All-SEC guard and offensive captain in 1994.
No. 21 Tennessee (1-0) hosts Missouri (0-1) this weekend in its home-opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
