KNOXVILLE - Georgia offensive lineman Cade Mays put his name in the NCAA's transfer portal Wednesday afternoon. It appears he already has his future destination in mind.
Multiple reports came out Wednesday that Mays was going to transfer to Tennessee, where by NCAA rules and guidelines he would have to sit out the 2020 season. He would have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Mays, a 6-foot-6, 318-pound sophomore and Knoxville Catholic graduate, played in 25 games during his two-year Georgia career, logging 18 starts while playing every position on the Bulldogs' offensive line. Six of those starts came at right guard, with two each at right tackle and left guard and one - Georgia's 26-14 Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor - at left tackle. He was a co-winner of the Charley Trippi Award for versatility.
He was named a Football Writers Association of American Freshman All-American in 2018 and to the coaches' freshman All-Southeastern Conference team.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Georgia offensive lineman Cade Mays (77) warms up before facing off against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019 in Knoxville, Tenn.Once rated as a five-star prospect, Mays - whose father Kevin was an offensive lineman at Tennessee from 1990 to 1994 - was committed to the Vols for two years before backing out of that nonbinding pledge in November 2017. Not long after, then-Tennessee coach Butch Jones was fired.
Late Wednesday afternoon, a report emerged that the Mays family had a pending lawsuit against the UGA Athletic Association after Kevin had part of his right pinky finger partially amputated due to a folding chair wedging it against a column on Dec. 15, 2017, during the family's official visit to Georgia.
AJC.com obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which stated that Kevin, his wife Melinda and sons Cade and Cooper - an i offensive lineman who was part of the Vols' 21-player December signing class - were invited to a dinner with other prospects at a club level inside Sanford Stadium on the Georgia campus. While Kevin was attempting to stand up, his finger was caught in a folding chair.
"As a result, Plaintiff Kevin Mays' right pinky finger was partially amputated as the subject folding chair wedged against the column," the lawsuit stated. "His severed finger shot across the floor."
The lawsuit stated that then-Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman - now the head coach at Arkansas - picked up the severed finger from the floor and put it on ice. Mays was then transported to Piedmont Hospital in Athens.
The finger could not be re-attached.
According to the Athens Clarke County Clerk of Court's online site, Kevin Mays filed a suit claiming damages on Dec. 5, 2019, seeking $3 million for bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and attorney fees. His wife is seeking $500,000 for "loss of consortium."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.