The Tennessee Vols' biggest concern entering the 2025 college football season revolves around an issue they haven't dealt with since Josh Heupel took over as the program's head coach in early 2021

For the last four seasons, Tennessee native Cooper Mays has served as the Volunteers' starting center. 

Mays, who played five seasons at Tennessee, is an all-time Vol who provided consistent leadership while holding down one of the most important positions on the field during the first four years of the Heupel era. 

The Vols' offense saw plenty of turnover at nearly every position during Heupel's first four seasons. The center position, however, was one spot that Heuepl and his staff didn't have to worry about for four seasons thanks to Mays. 

But with Mays off to the NFL after exhausting his college eligibility, Tennessee will have to find a new starting center this offseason. 

And that task became a little more difficult this week with the news that offensive guard Andrej Karic lost his appeal for another season of eligibility. 

Karic, who started his career at Texas before transferring to Tennessee, was hoping to gain another year of eligibility after he played just a handful of snaps in a fifth game in 2023. 

Had Karic been able to return to Tennessee for the 2025 season, it would've given the Vols the option of starting Karic at left guard, Arizona transfer Wendell Moe at right guard, and Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton at center (Pendleton played guard at Notre Dame, but he took center reps during practice with the Fighting Irish and he was listed as the program's backup center during the second half of the 2024 season). 

With Karic unable to return in 2025, it likely means that Moe and Pendleton will start at the guard positions. 

The most likely option to start at center is William Satterwhite, a former four-star recruit. 

Satterwhite, who will be a redshirt freshman in 2025, played in three games for the Vols in 2024 while operating as a backup center. 

Another option is Max Anderson, who will also be a redshirt freshman in 2025. Anderson took center reps in practice and played in two games in 2024. Jesse Perry, another rising redshirt freshman, will also be in the mix at center. 

It's also possible that Tennessee could start Pendleton at center and start Sham Umarov, Ayden Bussell, or one of the aforementioned center options at guard.

The Vols have some options, but there's no clear answer to arguably the biggest question facing Tennessee's offense ahead of Heupel's fifth season. And with Karic losing his appeal, it takes what appeared to be the most obvious answer off the board for the Volunteers. 

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