Tennessee Vols senior OL Cooper Mays explains how much he pays attention to preseason predictions for Vols
Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Cooper Mays knows the preseason predictions are out there — most of those predictions have UT missing the 12-team playoff in 2024 — but he doesn't pay attention to any of them. And it's not because he's trying to get a master's degree in coach speak, it's because Mays doesn't have […]
Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Cooper Mays knows the preseason predictions are out there — most of those predictions have UT missing the 12-team playoff in 2024 — but he doesn't pay attention to any of them.
And it's not because he's trying to get a master's degree in coach speak, it's because Mays doesn't have time to waste on scenarios that haven't happened yet.
Mays recently appeared on "Off the Hook Sports" and he was asked by host Dave Hooker about whether or not he pays attention to any of those predictions.
"I don't have the blinders on, I mean that stuff doesn't really even matter," said Mays. "It's not even real. At the end of the day, it's fake. Until you're in the playoff, it's all fake. Like, why are we even talking about it?"
"I mean, if you asked me two years ago, when we were No. 1 in the country, if we were going to be in the national championship, I would've been like 'hell yeah, we're going to be in the national championship, are you kidding me?'" added Mays. "But you know how it goes, we obviously weren't in the playoff. So, I don't know, it's all fake. There's no reason to look any further than the next destination on your schedule."
"It sounds like coach speak, and it sounds like I'm just being somebody that says what a coach would want me to say, but why would look any further than the next person on your schedule?"
That's probably the best approach that an athlete can take to the "outside noise". It's not possible to ignore the noise — not in this age of social media and the internet. Mays' approach, however, is to not worry about a situation that doesn't exist. And he's right. No one knows how things will play out. It's just an opinion — which doesn't have an impact on what actually happens on the field. Worrying about it can't only hurt performance.
Predictions are fun for fans — we all gotta have something to talk about during the offseason. But for players like Mays, those predictions don't really exist.
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