Cade Mays ready to play wherever Georgia wants him on O-line

Georgia offensive lineman Cade Mays (77) made seven starts last season as a freshman but is currently a backup for the Bulldogs, with the Knoxville native having worked at all five positions up front.
Georgia offensive lineman Cade Mays (77) made seven starts last season as a freshman but is currently a backup for the Bulldogs, with the Knoxville native having worked at all five positions up front.

Georgia sophomore Cade Mays earned starts last season at left tackle and right guard.

The 6-foot-6, 318-pounder from Knoxville has practiced at all five positions up front, including some recent looks at center. He has battled redshirt junior Ben Cleveland for the starting role at right guard but for now may be college football's best backup offensive lineman.

"If anything happens, I'm the guy who can be plugged in," Mays said this week in a news conference. "I like being that useful. Anything that happens, I'm the guy. It's helped me learning the center spot, because it's helped me learn what everybody on offense is doing.

"I think that has picked my game up to a new level."

Mays was on the field for 75% of Georgia's offensive plays during Southeastern Conference games last season, and it would be hard to produce a better league debut than his performance in the 41-17 win at South Carolina in early September. On the first play of the second half, starting left tackle Andrew Thomas sprained his ankle during a D'Andre Swift 13-yard run.

Suddenly, Mays was in very high demand.

"I was wearing No. 42 during that game," Mays recalled with a smile. "I was supposed to be like a tight end or an extra big guy, but then I heard Coach (Kirby) Smart yelling, 'Cade! Cade! Cade!' Then they gave me this big jersey to put on.

"I had to tell the referee I was checked in and in a new jersey. It was kind of a blur, but it was a great experience."

Not for South Carolina.

Mays helped Georgia cover 62 yards in the next five plays, with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Mecole Hardman providing the Bulldogs a 27-10 lead. The Bulldogs again went 75 yards in six plays for a touchdown with their second possession of the second half, and they had an 86-yard scoring drive on nine plays on their third possession.

Georgia amassed 236 yards on 21 plays during the third quarter, and Mays was involved in every snap but the first one.

Mays filled in for Thomas the following week against Middle Tennessee State before moving to right guard after Cleveland fractured his fibula at Missouri. The injury bug eventually bit Mays, however, as a shoulder setback kept him out of contests against Massachusetts and Georgia Tech to close the regular season and the SEC title game against Alabama.

Being versatile up front is something Mays learned from his father, Kevin Mays, who was an All-SEC guard and an offensive captain for Tennessee in 1994, when Peyton Manning was a freshman quarterback. Kevin coached Cade in youth football and would typically run plays behind whatever role Cade occupied.

Mays was a five-star prospect at Knoxville Catholic and committed to his father's alma mater, but Tennessee's 4-8 season in 2017 that included the firing of coach Butch Jones resulted in Mays opening up his recruitment and ultimately landing at another SEC East school.

"I don't think that was difficult on my family," Mays said. "They supported me from day one and told me that if I wanted to play out in California that they would come to every game. I made a decision that was best for me, and I'm thankful they supported it the way that they have."

Aware his decision would upset Tennessee fans, Mays said he put his cellphone down and confided in his family. That didn't stop some ugly messages from appearing via social media.

"Nobody's come up to me in person and tried to start anything," he said.

Odds and ends

Smart said after Wednesday's practice that senior Tyler Simmons is a starting receiver but "outside of that is wide open." ... Among those limited in practice are sophomore guard Jamaree Salyer and freshman inside linebacker Nakobe Dean.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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