Cooper Mays, Jaylen Wright, Ramel Keyton to suit up for Tennessee vs. South Carolina

Tennessee is getting healthy at the right time as starting center Cooper Mays is expected to suit up for the Vols on Saturday against South Carolina.

Mays has yet to appear in a game this year, but he will play against the Gamecocks, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Mays is arguably the top offensive lineman for Tennessee when healthy. He was a preseason All-SEC selection.

In addition to Cooper Mays, Tennessee will also have starting running back Jaylen Wright and leading receiver Ramel Keyton available against South Carolina, according to Zenitz.

Both players were banged up last weekend against UTSA and left the game early. However, they are good to go for Saturday.

Wright leads Tennessee with 312 rushing yards. He also has caught 10 passes for 58 yards.

Keyton leads the Vols with 205 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was hopeful that Cooper Mays would be able to suit up against South Carolina when he spoke with the media earlier this week. Heupel added that getting Mays back would be a big boost.

“Practiced really well. Like those other guys that I talked about, we’ll ensure that through tomorrow, and then obviously game day, that they’re ready to go compete at the level that you need to in this one,” Heupel said. “South Carolina’s big, strong, physical, explosive up front. So hopefully we’ll have him locked and loaded and ready to roll.”

Josh Heupel anticipates Joe Milton will be at full strength for South Carolina game

In addition to getting Cooper Mays back, Josh Heupel also expects quarterback Joe Milton to be at full strength.

Milton went down in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against UTSA after his left knee bent awkwardly during a tackle. Milton got up gingerly, went to the sideline, and would return for the remainder of the game with a brace on his knee.

A picture was circulating on social media of Milton checking in at the UT Medical Center on Sunday. Heupel addressed that earlier this week.

“I know there’s a picture out there. But for us, routinely on Sundays, we’re going to make sure that our players are healthy,” Heupel said. “We have a diagnosis inside with our doctors, but we’re gonna make sure medically they check up on him as well.”

Milton getting his knee evaluated sounds like a standard procedure for the Volunteers, as it is for many teams across the country, as Heupel believes that his quarterback will be just fine when they host the Gamecocks on Saturday night.

“Joe’s been good, feels good. He was with us today so I anticipate him being ready to go play really well,” Heupel said.