Tennessee Vols center Cooper Mays explains the dynamic between him and Nico Iamaleava
Tennessee Vols center Cooper Mays has been around the block when it comes to working with a number of different starting quarterbacks. The fifth-year senior has snapped the ball to J.T. Shrout, Harrison Bailey, Hendon Hooker, and Joe Milton in games for Vols. As such, he has plenty of experience in being able to adapt […]
Tennessee Vols center Cooper Mays has been around the block when it comes to working with a number of different starting quarterbacks. The fifth-year senior has snapped the ball to J.T. Shrout, Harrison Bailey, Hendon Hooker, and Joe Milton in games for Vols.
As such, he has plenty of experience in being able to adapt and work with quarterbacks of different ages and skill sets.
But it sounds like Mays and Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava are on the same page so far as fall camp gets in full swing in Knoxville ahead of the 2024 season.
"It's kind of hard to think about because Nico's so mature for his age," Mays said in response to a question about working with more experience quarterbacks versus a younger one. "He's a younger guy, but he doesn't act like that. But like you said, I've had guys who weren't just mature, they were like 24 or 25 years old, like older guys.
"It's been a little bit of an adjustment. Just got to be really communicative. Kind of the whole offense in general, but especially with me and the quarterback. You've got to talk a lot and kind of pick each other's brains. He tries to see how I'm seeing things. I'm trying to see how he sees things. So, just trying to get on the same page there. It's been really cool."
Being able to read fronts, call out blitzers, identify the middle linebacker in some sets, and handle other similar aspects require a trained eye, either from a quarterback or a center. There are few things more helpful for a young quarterback than a veteran center who can help a quarterback with those issues and call those types of things out.
And there are few interior offensive linemen in the country more capable of doing that than Mays. That really can't be understated, as Iamaleava still just has one start under his belt. He's still growing and he'll make mistakes, but he'll undoubtedly put in the work to learn from them.
But having a player who can help him learn like Mays will be a major asset for the Vols' young starting signal caller to rely upon this fall.
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