Vols' Josh Heupel provides update on Cooper Mays' status for Florida

Cooper Mays will travel with the Vols to Gainesville and is expected to play, per Josh Heupel during his Thursday press conference. "He'll be going with us," Heupel said. "He's been really good all week long. Anticipate him being ready to play." Mays has been out since early August due to a minor medical procedure. […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Sep 14, 2023 11:58 AM EDT

Cooper Mays will travel with the Vols to Gainesville and is expected to play, per Josh Heupel during his Thursday press conference.

"He'll be going with us," Heupel said. "He's been really good all week long. Anticipate him being ready to play."

Mays has been out since early August due to a minor medical procedure. Heupel mentioned last week that the goal in keeping Mays out for the Austin Peay game was to make sure he had the best chance to be available for Florida.

Now, it appears the Vols will have the anchor of their offensive line back for one of the most important games of the season. According to Heupel, it sounds as though Mays will go as far as he's ready on Saturday.

"You know, the conditioning is one thing, but he's been, you know, even before he's back on the grass with us, there's a lot of things that he's doing with our strength staff. The flow of the game will dictate a little bit, how he's feeling out there, that type of thing."

Florida head coach Billy Napier talked about the importance of Mays as far as a communicator, and Heupel stressed that as well on Thursday.

"He's smart, competitive, communicates at a really high level. His experience is beneficial for us."

The Vols will need his experience and football smarts against a fast and athletic Florida defense in a deafening environment. And it sounds like they will have exactly that when the teams square off on Saturday night.