Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Catholic's Cooper Mays to follow in dad's footsteps at UT

Cooper Mays will play at Tennessee, where his father played in the 1990s.

The Catholic senior, who is the son of former Tennessee guard Kevin Mays, committed on Friday to the Vols. Kevin Mays is a former Vols captain and played from 1991-94.

Cooper Mays, a four-star offensive line prospect, chose Tennessee over multiple offers, including Auburn, Florida LSU, Ohio State and Vanderbilt.

Catholic coach Steve Matthews said the Volunteers get an athletic big man who plays with a "nasty attitude" on the field.

"The first thing that stands out is his athleticism for a guy his size," Matthews said. "The knock on him early was if he was big enough."

But he eventually picked up some height and some weight this offseason.

Matthews said Mays is 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, up an inch or two on height and up about 20 pounds from last season.

"I was told they loved how he played from coaches all over America," Matthews said. "But they asked, 'How big is he going to get?'

"(Tennessee) coach (Jeremy) Pruitt told me to my face over a year ago, 'I don't care how big he is. He is the type of player we want at Tennessee. He's a high priority for us.'"

Mays is the No. 10 recruit in Tennessee and No. 5 center in the country according to the 247Sports Composite for the Class of 2020. His older brother Cade Mays is a 6-6, 318-pound sophomore offensive tackle at Georgia.

Matthews said the younger Mays has good feet and is athletic for his size, which helped his recruitment.

Matthews said Tennessee was recruiting him as a center or guard, but he said he could be moved around where needed.

"He's athletic enough to play some tight end if he needs to be," Matthews said. "They can plug him in anywhere. He does a great job on the defensive line."

Commitments are nonbinding for the athlete and the school. Mays cannot sign until the early signing period begins on Dec. 18.

Cooper Mays is the third player from Catholic to commit to an FBS program for the Class of 2020, joining offensive lineman Bryn Tucker (Clemson) and wide receiver Chancellor Bright (Marshall).

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.