Vols land Mays because it was about Cooper

Last October as I was heading out of Athens, Georgia, I ran into the the Kevin, Melinda, and Cooper Mays. They had just finished spending the afternoon cheering on their son and brother Cade, who had just helped the Bulldogs beat the Vols.

The trio spoke and we had a nice chat. Obviously, they were proud of Cade’s early success, and Cooper was there an unofficial visitor. They were complimentary of the Vols, but admittedly, I thought there was no way Cooper would ever give Tennessee a thought.

After all, in the day and age of overreaction in which we live, Cooper Mays should not be a Vol. That’s the simple truth.

From the moment Cade announced he was heading to play football at Georgia, radio talk shows, message boards and social media lit up with comments from an angry fan base that had not only lost the center piece of its 2018 recruiting class but a 5-star Vol legacy that seemed destined for orange clad greatness.

Fans directed their frustrations in several directions, including Cooper’s. While most of that has died down, very few Tennessee fans have allowed themselves to believe Cooper Mays, now a bonafide 4-star prospect on his own, would stay home and not follow his big brother.

Yet, he is.

And he is for one simple reason, the recruitment of Cooper Mays has been about one person — Cooper Mays.

The credit for that goes to Cooper, his parents, and Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt. When Cade Mays told Pruitt, who had less than two weeks to recruit Cade, “no thanks," Pruitt’s message to the Mays family — specifically Cooper — was that Pruitt and the Vols were coming to get the four-star center.

Tennessee’s relentless pursuit, and today’s commitment, was possible because Cooper gave them a chance. A smoldering relationship got its first spark last March with a rather benign trip to simply watch spring practice.

At the time, it made for an interesting development given the heat and criticism the Mays family, including Cooper, took when Cade headed for Athens.

“It was a few months after Cade signed with Georgia. I wasn’t really sure how to feel going into it,” Cooper explained.

“I felt a little bit awkward, a little uncomfortable. I kind of didn’t really know what to expect. We had good conversation. He kind of eased the tension a little bit and made me feel like I was my own person and nothing was really going to affect our relationship.”

In other words, the recruitment of Cooper Mays has been solely about Cooper Mays. That concept meant the world to the now-280 pounder, who answered any questions people had about his strength this spring as he went against the best the south had to offer in various camp settings, including the Rivals camp in Charlotte and The Opening regional in Murfreesboro where he earned an invite to the finals in just over a week in Frisco, Texas.

“That meant everything to me. Everyone makes those preconceived notions about you and coach Pruitt came in and just showed me a lot of love for me from the start. He didn’t judge me off anything else other than who I was and what I had showed him. That meant a lot to be because a lot of people kind of write me off as Cade’s little brother. It meant a lot to me that he respected me as my own person,” Mays said.

While Pruitt and his staff deserves a lot of credit for making Mays a priority, Cooper Mays deserves a lot of credit, as well. He was one who came to campus to get to start to get to know Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend. Cooper was the one who convinced his parents to come months later to meet with the Vols’ staff. Cooper was the one who didn’t get caught up in all of stuff said about him and his family.

“I understood why people were mad, but Cade had to do what was best for him, just like I have to do what’s best for me,” Mays said.

“I just had to block out all of the negativity and just focus on building relationships at each school that recruited me including Tennessee.

As a result, today, Cooper Mays got to do what every high school prospect in America going through the recruiting process should get to do: He made HIS college choice. He got his moment in the sun, as he begins forging his own path, a notion that’s clearly important to the Catholic High School product.

“I think it’s big for me because it’s all of my hard work being recognized and showing through. It’s paid off for me. I’m not a big me, me, me guy. But every once in a while I have to have a little time for me,” Mays said.

How good will Mays be for the Vols? Time will tell. Family genes suggest he will be a good player. His dad was. His brother is a great talent.

Today for me, that’s not the story. The story is a talented lineman, who’s always been known as “the little brother,” stepping out of the shadows to embark on his own path.

A journey in orange and white made possible by Cooper Mays’ willingness to give Tennessee a chance. A journey created by Jeremy Pruitt’s decision to recruit Cooper because he was Cooper.