Tennessee center Cooper Mays shared what most of the Vols were thinking when asked about linebacker Keenan Pili, who was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
“Super upsetting,” Mays said. “A guy that just does everything the right way, comes to work with the right mentality every day, that’s him. He’s a special guy and he’s been a really good leader for us, a really great player for us. It’s super upsetting.”
Pili suffered his third season-ending injury during his college career, which is in its seventh season thanks to an NCAA waiver for an additional year that was granted before this season. Now, his college career is over.
The Vols don’t have much time to be upset about Pili. The No. 11 Vols will host No. 7 Alabama this week at 3:30 EST in Neyland Stadium.
When asked about the Crimson Tide’s defensive front, Mays said, “The first thing you look at is the God-given talent, size, athleticism, the violence that they can play with based off those things. That’s the first thing that stands out. You know what Alabama is going to be each year.”
Alabama may be talented, as Mays said, but they haven’t been very effective on defense. The Crimson Tide is ranked 13th in the SEC in total defense, 14th in rushing defense and eighth in passing defense. Moreover, Alabama ranks seventh in the SEC in sacks with just 2.3 per game. That means things could get a bit easier for Tennessee, which has struggled to protect redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava.
“I think there was improvement,” Mays said when comparing the loss to Arkansas, in which the Vols gave up four sacks, to the win against Florida, in which Tennessee gave up three sacks. “There’s still a lot of stuff that we we can work on and we can be better at to help this team succeed.
Mays, in particular, is trying to help out Iamaleava. The two could be seen chatting right after halftime in the game against Florida. Why has Mays been so quick to support Iamaleava?
“Maybe I just I like him a lot,” Mays said. “I think he he does stuff the right way, carries himself the right way and, obviously, he’s a lot younger than I am. Me, as a young guy, that’s what I would want, somebody to come up and try to take care of me and make sure I was all good. I think everybody could use that. So that’s probably what I was thinking.”
Mays has also been thinking about running back Dylan Sampson, the junior that could break the Vols all-time rushing touchdown record, which was set by halfback Gene McEver in 1929. McEver’s mark stands at 18 touchdowns. Sampson already has 15 rushing touchdowns this season.
“He’s a guy that’s super athletic and and can make people miss and make you right when you’re a little bit wrong and that’s all you can really ask out of a back,” Mays said. “I think just him just being really diligent in the off season and just remaining healthy this year, it’s done a lot of good for him. Everybody gets older and gets a little bit better. I think he’s done a good job at that.”
