Vols appealing denied waiver for Cade Mays – Nashville Post

The Tennessee Vols were dealt a significant blow on Monday when the NCAA denied a waiver claim for former Georgia tackle Cade Mays.

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who had penciled Mays in as a starter on the Vols’ offensive line along with Trey Smith, Wanya Morris, Brandon Kennedy and Darnell Wright, said the team plans to appeal the decision.

“We’re in the process of appealing that,” Pruitt said in a video conference on Monday. “For me, it is frustrating as it is for Cade…The circumstances surrounding him and his family are something he had no control over. When you look at a young man, once he transfers, going through the process of if he’s going to be eligible, there’s a lot that goes into that. He’s sitting there with this case looming. Does that affect where he goes on the depth chart? Does that affect anything that goes on around him? It’s an unusual circumstance.”

Several other players have been granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA this year including J.T. Daniels, Tualia Tagovailoa and Phil Jurkovec. Convoluting the situation even further is the NCAA Division I Council’s decision on Wednesday night to recommend that fall sport athletes who play this year during the COVID-19 pandemic won’t lose a year of eligibility.

Simply put, Mays was denied immediate eligibility in a year that eligibility doesn’t even matter.

“I hate it for him,” Pruitt continued. “I hate it for every young man and woman out there that wants to transfer. I’m in favor of the one-time transfer. My question is, ‘Why should we stand in the way of a young man or woman trying to figure out what the right place for them is?’ I hope that eventually that will be the rule.

“I know for everybody that has transferred from our place, I have written a letter for recommendation to the NCAA that requested they be approved for immediate eligibility. So, I know it’s frustrating for Cade. It’s frustrating for our team.”

Mays, who transferred back in January, was a two-year starter for the Bulldogs. He was a five-star recruit out of Knoxville Catholic in 2018.

The Mays family is suing Georgia after Cade’s father Kevin had one of his fingers partially amputated after it was caught in a folding chair during a recruiting visit. It is unclear if this was reflected in Mays’ waiver bid to the NCAA.

Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter @MGsports_