Cooper Mays reflects on process of coming to Tennessee, family legacy, returning Tennessee to prominence

On3’s Andy Staples was on site for the Tennessee Volunteers‘ first scrimmage of the spring and their Pro Day, which were both held on March 27. While on campus, Staples caught up with one of the stars of the Volunteers’ offensive line, starting center Cooper Mays.

Cooper is the second Mays brother to sport the Volunteers’ orange and white, with his older brother Cade Mays being the first. However, it does not appear that he will be the last. Another Mays brother has garnered the attention of individuals residing in Knox County, and he has yet to make it to middle school.

According to Cooper Mays, his younger brother Camp might be the best out of the bunch. And that is high praise, considering he is just eight years old.

“I talk about it, but I don’t talk about it much to him. I don’t want to put pressure on him. But he’s definitely got the red carpet for genetics, that’s for sure. He’s eight and about 5’3” 150. So it’s like the saying head and shoulders; he’s head and shoulders above everybody,” said Mays.

While the Volunteers’ center plans on keeping a close eye on his younger brother’s development, he still hasn’t forgotten what he’s learned from his older brother. As Mays continued, he shared with Staples the biggest things he’s learned from his brother and his biggest takeaway from playing for one of the most prestigious football programs in the country.

“My biggest thing I learned from Cade; Cade’s a super aggressive dude, especially back in the day when he was in college,” he began. “He was he was always fired up and ready to go kill somebody. So I definitely took that from him having that intensity and everything.”

“What I learned through college is you gotta stay really grounded, and you gotta be really even keel. You know there’s a lot of ups and downs highs and lows. But the more you can stay towards the middle and stay focused on what’s important in life, that’s the better you’ll be.”

There is a certain level of respect and admiration given to the Tennessee football program. But it has been a long time since the Volunteers were a household name synonymous with national championship contention. However, that all recently changed when Josh Heupel took over the program. And Mays has been there every step of the way. Still, as the center joked, for him, he is too young to remember the days when opponents feared clashing with the Volunteers.

“I was born in 2001. So I haven’t seen many high points,” said Mays.

There’s still plenty of work for Mays, Heupel, and company to do at Tennessee. Although they have come close the past two seasons, the Volunteers have yet to make it into the College Football Playoff field and compete for a national championship. However, there are high hopes surrounding the program this season, especially with former five-star recruit quarterback Nico Iamaleava now running the offense.