Tennessee football: Starting center Cooper Mays reportedly out vs. Virginia

The Tennessee Volunteers' offensive line is one of the biggest unknowns on a Tennessee team with high aspirations for 2023. It will apparently start the season with a little bit more uncertainty. Starting center Cooper Mays is reportedly out for the Volunteers' season opener against Virginia, per ESPN senior college football writer Pete Thamel. Mays […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Sep 2, 2023 9:08 AM EDT

The Tennessee Volunteers' offensive line is one of the biggest unknowns on a Tennessee team with high aspirations for 2023. It will apparently start the season with a little bit more uncertainty.

Starting center Cooper Mays is reportedly out for the Volunteers' season opener against Virginia, per ESPN senior college football writer Pete Thamel.

Sources: Tennessee senior center Cooper Mays is expected to miss the opening game against Virginia on Saturday. He underwent a minor medical procedure on Aug. 9. He’ll be replaced by sixth-year senior Ollie Lane, who has five career starts but none at center.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 2, 2023

Mays reportedly underwent a minor medical procedure to address an unspecified injury, as previously noted by head coach Josh Heupel. Heupel had said earlier this week that Mays' status for Virginia had not yet been decided. From Thamel's follow-up tweet, Mays' return by Tennessee's pivotal Week 3 matchup with Florida isn't clear at the moment.

Mays has started 23 game the last three years for Tennessee. There’s a hope he’ll be healed in time for the Vols’ Week 3 game at Florida.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 2, 2023

6'4", 320-pound Ollie Lane will reportedly fill in for Mays on Saturday. Lane was listed as a co-backup to Mays on the depth chart this week, along with OL Dayne Davis. From a reserve role, Lane played in every game last season and did not allow a sack or QB hit nor commit a penalty all season. He played in 12 games in 2021 with 5 starts Tennessee seeing 462 total offensive snaps.

Tennessee will be relying on that experience to try to answer yet another big question at a key area as the Vols kick off their season in Nashville on Saturday.