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Tennessee announces player representatives for 2024 SEC Media Days

On3 imageby:Eric Cain•07/08/24•

_Cainer

When Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers take center stage in Dallas, TX. next week, linebacker Keenan Pili, defensive lineman Omari Thomas and offensive lineman Cooper Mays will be the player representatives who will make the trip and speak at the podiums on the Vols behalf.

Tennessee’s day in the spotlight will be Tuesday afternoon, July 16. As the ‘made for television’ showcase SEC Media Days has turned into, the Vols will share the afternoon session with Oklahoma while Georgia and Missouri will occupy the first two slots of the day.

Thomas, who stands in at 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, is making his second trip to Media Days as he was one of three representatives for the Vols last summer in Nashville, Tenn. He’s been a part of the NCAA Oversight Committee and on the SEC Football Leadership Council at times throughout his four-year career to date.

The defensive lineman is entering his fifth season at Tennessee and is on track to become a four-year starter for the Vols. Thomas has played in 48 career games with 30 starts and has produced 88 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. The in-state native has registered 10 quarterback hurries, recovered one fumble, forced a fumble and blocked one kick. Thomas graduated from Tennessee this past May.

Mays will be making his first trip to SEC Media Days next week, but like Thomas, has been a team-leader each of the past four seasons while starting the past three. A standout lineman at nearby Catholic High School in Knoxville, Mays has been a focal point in Josh Heupel’s tempo offense while playing center.  

The fifth-year senior enters the 2024 campaign as a Preseason All-American by Walter Camp (First Team) and Phil Steele (Second Team) and was named Second Team All-SEC in 2023 by the Associated Press. As a junior in 2022, Mays was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week following Tennessee’s win over Missouri in November.

The Rimington Trophy candidate has played in 40 career games with 32 starts – all at the center position. Mays has seen action on 2,075 career offensive snaps and has been responsible for only four sacks in the process. He graduated from Tennessee in May this past spring.

Pili enters his second season with the Vols after originally singing with BYU as a freshman in 2016. He redshirted that season before embarking on a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Fla. Back with the Cougars in 2019, Pili played 11 games and was a Second Team All-Independent linebacker in 2020. His season was cut short due to a torn ACL in 2021 after three games before returning as the team captain in 2022 and leading BYU with 62 stops.

He entered the transfer portal and signed with Tennessee prior to the 2023 campaign, but missed 11 games after suffering a season-ending triceps injury in the opener against Virginia, where he started at middle linebacker. Overall, the 26-year-old is one of college football’s eldest players and he’s accumulated 194 total tackles over 37 career games with 25 starts.  

Tennessee begins fall camp on July 31 with the season-opener from Neyland Stadium on August 31 against UT Chattanooga.

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