The Georgia game must feel a bit different in the Mays’ household. Don’t try to get Tennessee center Cooper Mays to admit as much.

Mays, who has become an All-American caliber lineman at Tennessee, got to see a classic SEC recruiting battle take place right in his living room back in 2018 when his older brother, Cade Mays, picked the Bulldogs over the Vols as a five-star prospect from Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tenn.

The recruiting battle was fierce for Cade. With a father, former offensive lineman Kevin Mays, as a former Vol and the family’s proximity to Tennessee’s campus, Cade was supposed to be a Vol. That was practically destiny. Right? Well, it didn’t turn out that way.

Cade chose Georgia over Tennessee and – as much as it might hurt to admit it – he probably made a good business decision. The Vols were in the midst of chaos in former Tennessee coach Butch Jones’ final season at Tennessee in 2018 throughout Cade’s recruitment. Then, newly hired athletic director Phillip Fulmer tabbed much-maligned coach Jeremy Pruitt as Jones’ successor. 

With so much turmoil, it made sense for Cade to choose Georgia. However, local Tennessee recruiting fans didn’t see it quite the same and were pretty vocal in their frustration when Cade signed with the Bulldogs. Cooper said that didn’t affect any family dynamics.

“It didn’t really matter as much to us,” the senior said when asked about his brother’s recruitment before the No. 7 Vols matchup against No. 12 Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga., “Truly, my family, they’re kind of the same as the way I operate. Just not big on listening to outside voices. But at the same time, we wanted Cade to be happy and successful. Wherever that was, it didn’t really matter where it was. So that’s all it really mattered.”

Cade was certainly successful at Georgia. He started 11 games for the Bulldogs before deciding to return home to play for the Vols in 2020, which ended up being Pruitt’s final season before he was fired and current Tennessee coach Josh Heupel took over in 2021.

“It was great for me,” Mays said of his brother’s return to East Tennessee. “Personally, I got to benefit from it a lot. Having my big brother there that knew so much more about football and kind of knew how it was done and knew how it was done at a high level. 

“Being able to see him and learn from him or listen to him, just to be around him. Having my big brother there, maybe not even much as football, but just kind of in life. I benefited from it.”

Certainly. Cooper went from an undersized offensive lineman to the anchor of Tennessee offensive line, which he has been since 2021 when he started eight games for the Vols at center.

The younger Mays hasn’t given up a sack since the Alabama game in 2022. He will assuredly be an All-SEC center following this season and will likely garner some All-American accolades. As for Cade, he’s playing center for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. It’s reasonable to think that Cooper would have never been the elite player he has become without some strong influence from his older brother.

While a casual fan might not notice as much, Cooper said he’s much better this season than he was last year. Cooper has been able to pull from his center position and act as a lead blocker on multiple occasions. That’s not easy for a center, who is also responsible for snapping the ball.

“Film has gotten better,” Cooper said when asked of his play. “I would say my pass pros (protections), I’m more accurate with my hands and probably give less ground than ever.”

That will be key for the Vols, who still have some uncertainty at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava is listed as “questionable” on Tennessee’s participation report, but he is expected to play, per multiple sources who spoke to Off The Hook Sports. If Iamaleava does play as expected, he’ll need a solid pocket to throw from, especially after suffering a concussion and a left, non-throwing, shoulder injury against Mississippi State last week.

That’s exactly what Cooper is focused on. While the recruiting drama his brother went through and the transfer back in the day is scintillating news for some, the Tennessee-Georgia game isn’t different than any other big-time opponent that Cooper has or will face. At least, that’s what he’s saying publicly.

“It’s probably more like just another game than something like super special,” Cooper said.

Pass protection will be critical for Iamaleava or, if he can’t play on Saturday, for backup quarterback Gaston Moore, who hasn’t started a game for the Vols since transferring from Central Florida along with Heupel when he was hired.

The Vols’ pass protection has been hot and cold this season. Tennessee is allowing two sacks per game, which is seventh best in the SEC, but didn’t give up a sack last week against Mississippi State. No, State isn’t grand, but providing a clean pocket is something to brag about against any SEC opponent, which means that LSU transfer Lance Heard has done an incredible job of improving his play after a stumbling start to the beginning of the season.

Heard was the focus of plenty of fan criticism in his early season struggles and why not? He was paid from NIL funds to transfer to Tennessee and become the Vols’ stalwart at left tackle ASAP. That didn’t happen right away as Heard was sidelined in preseason camp and early in the season with a sprained ankle. Now that Heard is fully functional, his play has followed suit.

“I would say it’s been, really, a huge bright spot of our offense and just really proud of him,” Mays said of Heard. “Super proud because that’s a guy that came in every day, works on getting better. Doesn’t complain at all.

“He’s a young guy and I’m sure he received a lot of criticism and stuff earlier on in the season. But, this is a tough league. It’s hard to be successful on a week-in, week-out basis. 

“He’s a guy that didn’t blink an eye when when he had some tougher times. And he just worked, so super proud of him and and super cool to see him improve. He’s got a lot of great ball left in his career at Tennessee. He’ll be whatever he wants to be.”

Heupel wants Heard to be an elite offensive lineman and, especially, an elite pass protector with a shaky quarterback situation. Georgia is eighth in the SEC with 2.3 sacks per game. That’s not bad, but not as good as some of those championship Georgia teams are, especially in 2021 when the Bulldogs ranked second in the SEC with 3.3 sacks per game.

Georgia likes to run a 3-4 base defense, but considering the Vols have struggled with a 3-3 look at times earlier this season, there’s reason to believe that the Bulldogs could change some things up. 

“They just like to create havoc, kind of whatever way they can get to it or whatever way they can make that happen,” Mays said. “That’s kind of what they try to do…We’ve played, like, seven games of it now. We’re definitely seven games better at it, getting to see it that much.”

Meanwhile, Mays is that much better thanks, in part, to his older brother’s return from one SEC rival to another.