A former Tennessee Vols standout who was a fan favorite during his five seasons on Rocky Top caught some serious shade this week from a top college football film analyst.

Brooks Austin of The Film Guy Network and Bulldogs on SI doesn’t seem to be a big fan of former Vols offensive lineman Cooper Mays.

Mays, who played at Tennessee from 2020 to 2024, was the Vols’ starting center for the first four seasons of the Josh Heupel era (Mays also started two games as a true freshman in 2020 under then head coach Jeremy Pruitt).

With Mays no longer at Tennessee, the Vols will have a new starting center this fall (Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton is the favorite to win the job in fall camp).

“Cooper Mays being [gone], they’re going to have to work in a new center,” said Austin. “Which, by the way, I think [the center position in 2025] has a higher ceiling than Cooper. I’ve always said on this network that Josh Heupel’s biggest feat is having Tennessee fans thinking that Cooper Mays is good. That was crazy to me.”

Some thoughts on the Vols by @BrooksAustinBA

Joey better than Nico? Vols upgraded at the C position? pic.twitter.com/yf55o4OZsc

— Jordan Moore (@jordanmoore_21) August 14, 2025

Whoah. That is a take.

Now, I’m not a talent evaluator, so I’m not going to lecture anyone on how good Mays is or isn’t.

What I do know, though, is that Tennessee was a much better team the last four seasons when he was on the field. When Mays missed time at the beginning of the 2023 season, the Vols’ offense clearly struggled.

Part of that was the Vols’ inability to develop center depth behind Mays. But it was also because Mays knew Heupel’s offense extremely well. And he was well-respected by his teammates.

Maybe Mays won’t be much of an NFL player (he was picked up by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent, but he’s likely destined for the practice squad if he’s going to stick around), but he was definitely an important player for Tennessee the last several years — on the field and off the field.

I’m sure Vol fans won’t love Austin’s comment about Mays, but they probably hope he’s right about the center position having a higher ceiling in 2025. That would certainly be good news for Tennessee’s offensive line this fall.

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