Tennessee redshirt senior OL Dayne Davis announces decision on final year of eligibility
Tennessee offensive lineman Dayne Davis announced on social media on Thursday that he’ll be returning for his final year of eligibility with the Vols next season. The 6-foot-7, 325-pound redshirt senior from Bluff City has spent the last five seasons at Tennessee.
Davis issued a statement while announcing his return:
“Growing up a fan of the Vols and being able to wear the T every Saturday for the past five years, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity for one more year to compete with my brother for a championship.
“With another year of eligibility, I’ll be staying in Knoxville to compete for a championship one last year with my brothers.
“Home is where may heart is, Rocky Top Tennessee.
— Dayne Davis (@BigDayne_Davis) January 18, 2024
Davis is the sixth Tennessee senior to announce his return for the 2024 season, joining wide receiver Bru McCoy, offensive lineman John Campbell, linebacker Keenan Pili, defensive lineman Omari Thomas and center Cooper Mays
Campbell spent five years at Miami before transferring to Tennessee. He started the first 10 games of the season for the Vols at left tackle before dealing with an injury over the final three weeks of the regular season. i.
Pili, the BYU transfer, was lost to what proved to be a season-ending injury in the season-opening win over Virginia on September 2. He finished the Virginia game with four tackles, including two solo tackles. He earned a game ball after the win, after playing 30 snaps. Pili spent the last four years at BYU, where he had 191 tackles in 34 career games.
Thomas, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Memphis native and product of Briarcrest Christian High School, is coming off a career-high 31 tackles in 11 games this season. He had 1.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, his highest TFL total since he had 5.0 in 12 games in 2021.
Mays was sidelined by an abdominal injury for four games to start the 2023 season. He returned against Texas A&M. McCoy caught 17 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown before being lost for the season after suffering a gruesome ankle injury against South Carolina in September. He caught 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns in 2022.
