It’s nice to be reminded that “student” is still a part of the term “student-athlete.”

Tennessee center Cooper Mays is an excellent example of both. Mays has done everything required – and then some – to become a standout as a student and an athlete. That’s not easy to do.

We’ll get to the “student” part. First, let’s look back at what got Mays in a position to excel at the “athlete” part.

Mays put on 50 pounds within six months after signing with the Vols so he was able to play in all ten games in 2020. Mays quickly went from the younger brother of Cade Mays and son of former Vol Kevin Mays to a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2021. 

Mays missed five games last season due to injury and it showed. The 6-foot-3, 296-pound Mays isn’t the kind of player any team wants to lose. In 650 offensive snaps, he has given up just one sack.

In addition to being a starter, Mays is now considered one of Tennessee’s team leaders. Mays is versatile on the offensive line, but he’ll play center for Tennessee because he’s athletic, smart and driven.

Mays’ play will be just one of the assets he will provide to Tennessee this season. His leadership skills will also be on display in various college football stadiums this fall. The former Catholic (Knoxville, Tenn.) High School standout has excelled as a leader despite the fact that Tennessee has had some serious leadership problems above him.

Mays’ leadership skills led him to Africa last week while college football fans were back in the U.S. debating conference realignment and expansion. Mays left that stateside. He travelled to help construct, build or do whatever was necessary in Rwanda, where half of the population lives below the poverty line.

When asked what stood out about the trip, Mays said, “It was the way that the whole group, as a whole people, they all live with such passion and spirit. 

“In America, as a whole group of people, we kind of live with our flesh. We put our flesh first. It’s more like we’re looking at pleasures and more materialistic things that will bring us happiness.”

That’s not a problem in Rwanda. Material good aren’t readily available for residents that are lucky if they earn $2 per day. In college football, a game requires players, officials, coaches and cathedral-like stadiums. In Rwanda, a tire rim qualifies as sport. Mays saw that up close during his trip as part of the VOLeaders Academy, which is a group of Tennessee student-athletes intent to “change the world” for the better.

Mays, who was one of only a few athletes selected to participate in the trip, still had to be conscious of his physique while he was traveling abroad. With football season just a few weeks away, Mays made sure he ate enough so he wouldn’t lose weight. That wasn’t easy when he was served up something that was supposed to be chicken, but didn’t taste anything like chicken. It seemed like meat. At least it had bones, lots of bones. Still, Mays passed on the mystery meat.

It’s a good thing that Mays’ travel group stayed at a Marriott for two nights so he could double up on traditional, American hotel food. That was a welcomed, albeit brief, respite from the poverty that was so impactful.

“Being in that course has been one of the coolest experiences,” Mays said. “I’m that guy who is from a small town in East Tennessee. I don’t really get out of my comfort zone. 

“Being able to live a completely different experience for a couple of weeks and see a whole different culture and a whole different life, it was definitely up there for one of the top experiences of my life.”

Mays also took part in a gorilla trek in which he was just two or three feet in front of an 800-pound, silverback gorilla with no cage or restraint. That’s far different than anything he’ll ever experience on a football field.

It’s those type of learning experiences that being a student is all about. It’s those type of experiences that should be celebrated. Instead, we far too often argue about conferences, NIL or the transfer portal. It’s good to know that student-athletes don’t get caught up in that. It’s good to know they’re still learning. For the vast majority, being a “student” will be more important than being an “athlete.”