Representing Tennessee football at SEC Media Days, three Vols made the trip to Dallas to field questions from the media.

Here's everything Cooper Mays, Keenan Pili and Omari Thomas said.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Q. Boo Carter is someone that's come in and made quite the impact, it seems, early on in his Vols career. How do you see him contributing this fall? And what makes him special in your eyes?

COOPER MAYS: Oh, man, I'm not sure how he'll be used, but a special player, really athletic. You said you're from Chattanooga. I'm sure you're familiar. You've watched him.

Super athletic kid. Cool kid too. Really easy to get along with, fits right in.

I'm not sure how we'll use him, but you've got to find ways to use somebody like that, you know.

Q. First of all, compliments on the hat.

COOPER MAYS: Appreciate it, brother.

Q. You're up here representing the Tennessee offensive line. I want to give you a chance to talk about the other guys that are going to be starting alongside you on the offensive line this year.

COOPER MAYS: We've got a few guys that some positions haven't really been figured out, but John Campbell is coming back, Javontez Spraggins, Jackson Lampley, Andrej Karic, Dayne Davis. Lance Heard is new transfer in. We've got a couple people in the mix for a lot of different things, but a bunch of good kids. Really good guys.

You know how O-linemen are, a bunch of good guys, super talented in my opinion, and a lot of experience under our belt too.

Q. Josh Heupel has a lot of ties in Norman, won a National Championship as a player. You're going to be there for the first SEC test, welcome to the SEC. What's the expectation around that game, and what has been said in that locker room from Coach going back to Norman?

COOPER MAYS: My biggest expectation from that is just a great environment. I've personally never been to Oklahoma, and I've never played there either obviously. Really looks like a great environment.

Great team. We expect it to be a great game and really excited just to see what that stadium and everything has to offer.

Q. Addison Nichols transferring to Arkansas in the off-season. What stands out to you about him off the field and what does he bring to the table?

COOPER MAYS: I would say the biggest thing is he's a guy that works really hard and fits in. I think he's a guy that has a lot of physical tools. He's a huge guy, really strong. Strong in the weight room, strong on the field.

He's still young, trying to put it all together, like we all are. I think he'll have a good spot over there at Arkansas for sure.

Q. I've got a number of questions. We'll start with the hat. Did you go in there and like have to get it fitted? Like offensive linemen obviously are going to have huge heads. I'm wondering how that worked.

COOPER MAYS: We just came from a place like an hour ago where they did some shots, and they did a custom hat for me. I've never worn a cowboy hat before. This was my first time, and I was kind of feeling it. So I'm keeping it on.

Q. You got a brand on it?

COOPER MAYS: Yeah, they did brand it.

Q. Is that your initials?

COOPER MAYS: Yeah, my initials, and there should be a T. I don't know where it all is. It's pretty nice.

Q. You mentioned Lance Heard. Obviously we're pretty familiar with him at Louisiana. What do you expect from him?

COOPER MAYS: I expect him to have a great year and a great career, however that shakes out. A kid that has a lot of physical tools, huge, huge powerful guy and long arms. That's kind of a recipe for success when it comes to O-line.

Really excited to see how he grows and develops. He's still a young kid, so he's got a lot of stuff to get through and work through, but I think he'll be a really, really good player.

Q. I asked Coach about Dylan Sampson, and he said he's kind of been a leader since day one. Since now that it's his time, what are you seeing from him and expectations from him?

COOPER MAYS: Just confidence and energy. Like you said, he's kind of been a leader from day one. He's really sure of himself and sure of what he's doing. He's confident in himself and his job. That kind of leads to you just being a natural leader anyway in the football arena.

He came in day one and was prepared and ready to go for it. He's done a really, really good job.

Q. What's it like blocking for Nico? Kind of what do you expect from him this season? Maybe any differences from the line perspective of having Joe back there as opposed to now Nico?

COOPER MAYS: Really excited for Nico, a kid that has come in and just gotten right to work and been really humble and really a kid that's willing to soak up any information that anybody will give him.

I don't know if you really block for him any different. Obviously that -- you can't really think about stuff like that, but playing with a guy like him that can get out and make plays and make stuff right, it does help as an O-lineman.

Q. Cooper, what's your advice for young offensive linemen who are about to get their first taste of playing time in major college football or in the SEC?

COOPER MAYS: I would just say -- man, that's a good question. I would say take every rep and do it the right way. Even when it comes to workouts, like don't miss anything and not apply it to football.

Not everything's going to be super applicable to football, but you can tweak everything and make it work, you know what I'm saying? I would say take every rep and try to make it fit into what you want to accomplish.

I spent a lot of my time just wasting time, just doing stuff, you know what I'm saying? You've got six plays, Coop. Okay, I'll go out there and do them.

Try to go out there and make every rep be applicable to what you're trying to accomplish that week or just in general as a football player.

Q. Is the offensive line, is that a question mark with the team? I mean, I know how you feel about your teammates, but to the fans of Tennessee. And then I want to ask about Bru McCoy and what has he done to help the team? He's been one of the leaders out there.

COOPER MAYS: I personally, I don't think our O-line is a question mark. I would think that it's probably a strong point for our team, in my opinion. Kind of bias out of it in general probably, but I would say it's a strong point.

Then as far as Bru, talk about a guy that just brings it every day. No matter what the circumstance is, no matter what's going on outside of the building, inside the building, like just comes to work with the right attitude every day and just gets stuff done. That's what you want out of a guy, just a consistent person, and he's the same guy every day. Love that guy.

Q. Why is it that offensive linemen are the most fun quotes and the best guys to talk to on a team?

COOPER MAYS: We talked about this earlier. I would say the O-line is a difference maker personally because we were probably big growing up, and there's only one way to be cool when you're big, and that's by being a good person, being funny, making people laugh, stuff like that.

So we've had ample opportunity to help our personality develop.

Q. What kind of luxuries -- you mentioned the experience coming back on the offensive line. How important is it for offensive linemen to be on the same page, and what kind of luxury is it to have a bunch of guys you're really familiar with playing alongside you?

COOPER MAYS: It's huge. Five guys doing the one thing and being on the same page, when you've got a bunch of guys that have played a lot of football and seen it, it helps a lot.

We've got a young guy in Lance Heard that hasn't played a ton of football, and putting people next to him that have played a ton of football or just being around somebody that knows what they're doing, it's invaluable.

Then when you've got five people like that all on the same page, it's a game changer.

Q. We've been asking a lot of people about the headset communication and iPads and stuff. As an offensive lineman, is there anything that's applicable to you all? Will that help at all in a game, or is it pretty much just iPads on the sideline?

COOPER MAYS: iPads on the sideline will be big, like you asked, that's huge. For the communication, I wish I had something. Obviously the quarterback is going to have it, but if you could make it two, that would be pretty nice.

For us, we've got a high powered offense that moves really, really quick. You cut out any miscommunication, you're just going straight to the source. I think that will be big time for us.

Q: I cover Oklahoma and Josh Heupel is really known as leading Oklahoma to their last National Championship. I want to ask you about his coaching style, what he gets out of his football team. Does he ever talk about his days at Oklahoma?

KEENAN PILI: Yeah, yeah. I think I've heard him a couple times talk about it for sure. I feel like I understand, though, the competitive nature he probably had at Oklahoma, and transferring over here to Tennessee as a coach. Competitive guy no matter what you're doing, whether it's basketball or playing a game. Coach Heupel is competitive. I can see why he was successful at Oklahoma.

Q. Can you describe Nico and his abilities to play the quarterback position and what challenges he might present a defense and to you in practice and how has he helped you be a better player?

KEENAN PILI: Yeah. I think we all know Nico. He's very talented. The physical part is pretty easy to see when you see Nico play. One thing I've seen from Nico over this offseason is really his mental side of the game and his growth as a player. He's really found a way to get some respect in the locker room, just his humility has drawn a lot of people to want him to lead, and I think that's kind of been one of his greatest attributes so far and the way he leads us is through that.

Q. Boo Carter is someone who's come in as a highly rated recruit. What impresses you about him and do you see him making an impact on the field this fall?

KEENAN PILI: Just the way he moves. He moves really well and makes some plays, his frame. You can tell by how he carries himself he loves football, and you can tell he cares. But I'd say most importantly those talents that he carries. The sky's the limit for him as he goes on throughout his career.

Q. Talk about being able to bounce back from the injuries that you sustained and being one of the few to get a seventh year of eligibility in college football, what it means to be the middle backer starting for the Tennessee Volunteers.

KEENAN PILI: It means everything. It means everything. I don't take the role lightly, the things that come with middle linebacker and the things I'm expected to do. I prepare in a way that I know my teammates will trust and respect me.

Just excited and excited to come back and play. I have been around, so I'm excited to play another year and to be here.

Q. What was your "welcome to the SEC" moment where you were like, wow, the competition here -- this isn't high school anymore.

KEENAN PILI: Yeah, man, I see it every day at practice. I remember when I first got in, you could notice for sure. I felt especially with the guys up front, the big boys. Not just big boys, them big boys move.

I'd say yeah, seeing those guys work up front, seeing the chaos they create. I was like, oh, yeah.

Q. Injured in the season opener last year, but you continued to serve as team captain for the entire season. You stayed involved. Just the sort of stuff you did with the team to keep your football senses strong and how it benefitted you going into this year.

KEENAN PILI: Greatly. You kind of see the game, and I've had my injuries before, but being here at a new school and being able to see it from this lens, you kind of grow mentally, and especially you see the game in a different lens. You're able to kind of see where things break down because you're not on the field. You can see the big picture. I feel like it's always helped me being able to zoom out a little bit, see the big picture, see what the coaches are wanting to get done. I took that year under my belt, used it to my advantage, and hopefully help me next season.

Q. What's the most challenging road site in the conference?

KEENAN PILI: Road site? Man, I'm excited for all of them. I haven't been nowhere on the field, so I'm just excited for that.

I know there's some hostile environments in this conference, and been able to experience those last year. I want to experience them on the field in pads, get the real experience.

Q. What can you say about the other players at linebacker for Tennessee? Speak to what you have at that position.

KEENAN PILI: So much. We're deep. We're deep. Like we talk all the time with my linebackers, they're young, but you'd never expect them to be how they are now. They're not young. The type of work and sacrifices they make for just this room as a whole is crazy. We have tons of linebackers that can step up and do the role. That's how much trust I have in those guys, some competitors. Every day, day in and day out, they show out the same people. That goes top to bottom, even the new guys that have come.

Q. Your teammate Omari spoke about creating turnovers. How do you practice creating turnovers individually?

KEENAN PILI: Every opportunity we get a chance in practice, whether it's punching at a ball, trying to make a chance into an interception, reading an offense, whatever it may be, we've got to practice it. We talk about it all the time with Coach Banks. We go over it after every practice; hey, how many takeaways did we try to take away? How many punches at the ball did we have? How many missed takeaways did we have? So it's constantly on our mind. I feel like the more we talk about it, the more we can speak it into our game, as well, and then fine tune it.

Q. Oklahoma has joined in the league for the first time and everyone is getting acquainted with everyone. What do you know about Oklahoma, their history, their tradition? Are you familiar with them at all?

KEENAN PILI: Yeah. I wouldn't say I know too much about the tradition, but I'm familiar that that's a program. They've got some rich history. Grew up watching teams like Oklahoma and even Texas now joining, play. So I know they're great programs and have a great history.

Q. What is the next step for the defense to be SEC top echelon?

OMARI THOMAS: For us, I feel like as a defense, in order for us to grow, we have to continue to create turnovers. We need to create way more turnovers than we have been, and I feel like that's really the main step forward is that we need to create turnovers.

Q. What have you seen this offense from your defense that gives you confidence that you guys will take that next step?

OMARI THOMAS: You know, we just come in, we compete every day. We always want the best from each other, and we always push the best, whether that's offense winning some days, defense winning some days. But we know as a team, as a whole, we know what we can do as a team, and we look forward to doing that.

Q. Boo Carter is someone who's come in with a lot of hype, a big time recruit from the area. What have you seen from him that's impressed you the most, and do you feel you can contribute on the field this season?

OMARI THOMAS: I feel like Boo has come in with a mindset as a young guy wanting to learn, wanting to be great, wanting to actually be on that field this year, his freshman year, and you see that in a guy who's putting in the extra work, looking up to older guys and is always hanging out with older guys just trying to learn the way fast so he's able to be on the field and help us. He's a great athlete. He's going to make a bunch of plays for us, so it's great to see a guy like Boo doing that.

Q. Coach Heupel obviously played and won a national title when he was at Oklahoma and Oklahoma is going to be their first SEC game ever. What's the mindset going into Norman and playing that game?

OMARI THOMAS: It's going to be a great game, great atmosphere. Energy will be high. We just have to go in and know that we need to dominate as a team. We need to play our best football. We have to prepare well. We have to come in, do everything we need to do to in order to go 1-0 that week.

Q. You're obviously a veteran in the sport of college football, going into your senior season. What was your "welcome to the SEC" moment where you were like, man, this is actually different?

OMARI THOMAS: I would say my welcome to the SEC moment was really my freshman year going against like Texas A&M, just noticing, man, those guys are real big. I'm used to being one of the biggest guys on the field. Now there's a bunch of guys that we all look the same. That was just one of my real moments that I'm like, okay, we're here, so I'm going to lock in for sure. But it's all been good so far, so that's good.

Q. You're back for your fifth season. Outstanding year last year. Factors that you considered in the decision to come back and play one more year at Tennessee?

OMARI THOMAS: Yeah, I thought about it a lot. It just really came down to me feeling if I could still grow some more as a player, and I definitely feel like there was room for me to grow and improve as a player just in different aspects of the game. I know that for myself, it was a full decision within me, just praying about it and just knowing I want to put myself in the best situation and I feel like coming back to Tennessee and continuing to be a part of the change and pushing the culture that we've created here is something I wanted to be a part of.

We have a bunch of guys who are veterans on our team and a bunch of older guys. So it's good to know that a lot of guys that I came here with and started this whole career, started this change here at Tennessee, and we all get to go out there and do it all over again for one more year, our last year, and just put everything into it so that way we can get the maximum out of it.

Q. Doneiko Slaughter and Addison Nichols, two guys that transferred from Tennessee to Arkansas. What do you remember about both guys and what do they bring to the table?

OMARI THOMAS: Both of those guys are just great guys. They both are my guys. I still talk to both of them. Neiko, that's really my guy. He was in my class coming in. Addison, going against him just learning him as a person, it's all good. He was literally right across from me in the locker. Those are both my guys. I look forward to seeing them when we play them and having a good time. I know they will do what they're supposed to do over there and it's good to just know that they're doing good.

Q. Yesterday college football's video game dropped, EA Sports. They have you ranked as 83. Do you expect that ranking to change as the season progresses, and were you happy with your overall ranking?

OMARI THOMAS: Yeah, I definitely expect it to change for sure. I expect it to change for sure. But I'm happy with it. At the end of the day, it's a video game. You can't get too down about it, can't get too up about it. I'm going to still play the game regardless if I was a 60. It's just fun to be able to be a part of something that was once before and now they've brought it back. It's a blessing to be in that position and just to know I was part of the game that came back regardless of the overall, but I do appreciate the 83.

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