Cooper Mays out against Austin Peay, working toward possible return at Florida
Tennessee starting center Cooper Mays will be out for No. 9 Tennessee’s game against Austin Peay on Saturday, head coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday night during an appearance on Vol Calls. Mays has been out since August 9 when he underwent what was initially described by Heupel as a “minor procedure.”
Tennessee (1-0) hosts Austin Peay (0-1) on Saturday in a 5 p.m. Eastern Time start. The home-opener at Neyland Stadium will not be televised but can be seen as an online live-stream through ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
Mays missed the season-opening 49-13 win over Virginia on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. After hosting Austin Peay on Saturday, Tennessee starts SEC play at Florida on September 16 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.
“Cooper, he’s been with us on the field” Heupel said. “We will not play him in this one (against Austin Peay). That’s just in preparation for the following week, make sure that he’s 100 percent.”
Vols’ linebacker Keenan Pili out with undisclosed injury
Mays was joined on the injury list this week by starting middle linebacker Keenan Pili. Heupel confirmed Wednesday afternoon on the SEC Coaches Teleconference that the BYU transferred would miss time with an undisclosed injury.
Volquest’s Brent Hubbs reported Wednesday morning that Pili will be out multiple weeks after sustaining an upper-body injury in the win over Virginia.
“We weren’t sure early in the week the severity of the injury,” Heupel said during the teleconference appearance. “He will not be available this week. He’ll miss a couple weeks here.”
Heupel was then asked if it was a short-term injury or a long-term issue.
“I don’t believe it’s season ending at this point,” Heupel said. “We’ll see how he continues to heal up in the coming days and weeks.”
Heupel said after the win over Virginia that the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Mays could return “hopefully pretty soon.”
“Look forward to getting Cooper back here, hopefully pretty soon,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference. “And at the same time, what we’ve done with the guys that have been at center, but the moving parts that we’ve had, how they’ve competed and played, believe that we’ll find more out as we watch (the film), but I thought all in all, really solid performance from all those guys.”
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Austin Peay, Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Mays, a preseason Second Team All-SEC pick, started all 13 games at center last season, playing 894 snaps while not allowing a sack over the final five games. He played and started at center in eight games as a sophomore in 2021.
“I do feel good about the development of our young guys,” Heupel said earlier this week. “Some of the guys that have had experience playing. (We will be) rotating some of those guys at the guard and tackle positions in this first one as well.”
Heupel confirmed the injury to Mays on August 10, after Tennessee’s first scrimmage of fall camp.
“Coop had a minor procedure,” Heupel said at the time. “He’ll be back, he’ll be healthy as we get closer to kickoff. I anticipate that being a couple-week deal.”
