Tennessee Vols Community Mourns An Icon Heath Shuler Who Kicked The Bucket @52 Since the 2024 season is still a few months away, it seems premature to be concerned about the Tennessee Vols in 2025.

However, there’s a potential issue that the Vols must address before the upcoming summer if they hope to contend for a national championship in 2025.

Cooper Mays, an offensive lineman, revealed earlier this offseason that he will be returning to Tennessee for his final season of eligibility.

Mays is one of the most vital players on Tennessee’s roster. He has played over 2,000 plays and has 32 career starts at center for the Vols.

The Knoxville native missed the first four games of the previous season, which was greatly missed. Without Mays in the starting lineup, Tennessee’s attack appeared disjointed, especially against Austin Peay and Florida.

Entering his fourth season with Heupel’s program, Mays is as familiar with the offensive concept as any athlete who will play for the Volunteers. He is in charge of modifying defenses, reporting what he observes from the opposition, and monitoring the offensive line. Tennessee’s offensive success depends heavily on Mays’s on-field ability to make fast diagnoses.

To sum up, Tennessee just cannot lose him this season if they want to have any chance of making the playoffs.

As Mays prepares for his final season at Tennessee, the Vols must consider what life will be like in 2025 without him.

The Vols don’t currently have a clear solution at center, but they must find one soon.

If not, the center position might transform from the Vols’ greatest asset to their greatest liability by 2025. Josh Heupel’s system, with its wide splits and fast tempo, makes that a weakness Tennessee cannot afford in 2025 when they look to contend for a championship.

Dayne Davis, who is about to enter his senior year at Tennessee, has expertise in Heupel’s system and is expected to be Mays’ main backup in 2024.

In 2025, contenders to replace Davis at center include redshirt freshman Vysen Lang and/or true freshman William Satterwhite. However, neither is there just yet. It’s also not a good idea to presume that either will jump right into the job unless they are. For the Vols in autumn, the growth of those two guys will be crucial.

It may be bad news for the Vols if neither Lang nor Satterwhite is able to lock down the backup center position before the conclusion of the season. That means Tennessee will probably have to search the transfer portal for a center. Given how much a new center would need to learn in a single summer to play the position effectively in Tennessee’s offense, that’s probably the last thing Heupel wants to do.

For that reason, this fall’s selection of Tennessee’s starting center in 2025 must begin. If not, it could ruin East Tennessee’s chances of having a successful 2025 season.