Former Vols OL Cade Mays could begin the 2023 season as an NFL starter
Former Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Cade Mays, the older brother of starting UT center Cooper Mays, could begin the 2023 NFL season as a starter. Mays, who left Tennessee after the 2021 season, was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The former five-star recruit, who transferred from […]
Former Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Cade Mays, the older brother of starting UT center Cooper Mays, could begin the 2023 NFL season as a starter.
Mays, who left Tennessee after the 2021 season, was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The former five-star recruit, who transferred from Georgia to Tennessee ahead of the 2020 season, has been receiving plenty of first-team reps at right guard during training camp.
With starting right guard Austin Corbett still recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in January, it appears that Mays is the favorite to start at right guard to begin the season.
Corbett is expected to miss at least a few weeks in the regular season as he continues in his recovery.
This is obviously a massive opportunity for Mays as he enters his second season in the NFL. But it's an opportunity that he's ready to take advantage of this season.
"I just feel like I feel more confident," said Mays earlier this offseason (via Panthers.com). "I feel like I know the playbook better. I've been playing the majority (at) right guard and center, so I feel comfortable at those spots. I just feel prepared, like I come out here, and I feel like I'm ready. I added some muscle mass in the offseason, got a little bit stronger. So all that stuff has helped me this year."
Opportunities for young players like this don't always come around. This is Mays' chance to take a stronghold on a starting job which makes the next few weeks of the preseason extremely important for the Knoxville native. Mays has five-star talent — now is his chance to show the rest of the NFL that they made a mistake by letting him slip to the sixth round.
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Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
