No news is always good news in college football on the doorstep of a season, because it means that teams are avoiding the injury bug.
That has changed slightly at Tennessee, as the Volunteers scrimmaged Thursday morning inside Neyland Stadium without senior center Cooper Mays. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Mays has played 1,544 career snaps and allowed just four sacks, and he was voted last month at Southeastern Conference Media Days as a preseason third-team selection.
“Coop had a minor procedure late yesterday,” Vols third-year coach Josh Heupel said in a news conference following the scrimmage. “He’ll be back, and he’ll be healthy as we get close to kickoff. I anticipate it being a couple-week deal. Today we rotated a bunch of guys — Ollie (Lane), Parker Ball, and young guys like Vysen (Lang) and Addison Nichols.
“These guys are all competing, and all these guys have taken some reps even when Cooper is here as we continue to look for that backup center spot.”
The Vols will take Friday off and resume morning practices Saturday and Sunday.