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Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt put his Volunteers through that long-awaited first day of preseason practice Monday afternoon but provided some disappointing news afterward. Junior offensive lineman Cade Mays, the former five-star signee from Knox Catholic who played all five positions for the Georgia Bulldogs the past two seasons before transferring to Tennessee in January, had his waiver for immediate eligibility denied by the NCAA. Tennessee is appealing the ruling. Pruitt, who attained immediate eligibility as a defensive back after transferring from Middle Tennessee State to Alabama in 1995, expressed frustration with the verdict.

"Why should we stand in the way of a young man or woman trying to figure out where the right place for them is?" Pruitt said. "Right now that's not the rule, but I hope that it eventually will be the rule. I know that for everybody who has transferred from our place, I have written a letter for a recommendation for them to the NCAA that requested that they be approved for immediate eligibility. "I know it's frustrating for Cade, and it's frustrating for our team." Tennessee senior guard Trey Smith responded to the news by posting on Twitter, "Interesting how other positions get cleared seemingly without hassle," referring to quarterbacks such as Justin Fields, Tate Martell and JT Daniels, who each obtained immediate eligibility after transferring. Mays then asked Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano on Twitter if he could "rock that No. 2 (jersey) for a season." - Chattanooga Times Free Press

(DS#24 OT) rSr/2022

OT Cade Mays, Tennessee
News Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
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07/28/20 - Trey Smith, Sr/2021, Tennessee, 6-6, 321 (DS#4 OG) + More +

2020 PRESEASON WALTER CAMP SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN: OL Trey Smith, Tennessee,...Smith is coming off a dominant junior campaign in which he helped lead the Vols to six consecutive victories to end the season, including a thrilling comeback win over Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Jackson, Tennessee, native received All-SEC first team accolades from the league's coaches and media after starting 12 games in 2019. Making his season even more impressive was the fact that Smith was limited to no contact in practices throughout the season after battling back from blood clots in his lungs that forced him to miss the final five games of his sophomore season. Smith's incredible return to football as well as his impactful work off the field and in the community earned him the 2020 Fritz Pollard Trophy and the 2019 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. - Tennessee Football

(DS#4 OG) Sr/2021

OG Trey Smith, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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07/27/20 - Velus Jones Jr., rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-0, 204 (DS#29 WR) + More +

2020 PRESEASON PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST: Velus Jones Jr., Tennessee,...A graduate transfer from Southern Cal, Jones was an explosive return specialist for the Trojans and earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors. As a redshirt junior, Jones returned 29 kickoffs for 704 yards and one score in 2019. His yardage ranked 14th in the nation. In his three playing seasons at USC, the Saraland, Alabama, native logged 36 receptions for 347 yards to go along with 1,947 kickoff return yards on a school-record 81 attempts. Heading into 2020, Jones averages 24.0 yards per kickoff return. He finished his USC career second all-time in school history in kickoff return yards, while his 1,947 kickoff returns entering this season make him second among active FBS players and first in the Power 5. - Tennessee Football

(DS#29 WR) rSr/2022

WR Velus Jones Jr., Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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07/27/20 - Trey Smith, Sr/2021, Tennessee, 6-6, 321 (DS#4 OG) + More +

2020 WUERFFEL TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST: Trey Smith, Tennessee, senior, offensive line,...Smith is one of a record 114 football student-athletes to be placed on the early list and one of 14 players from the SEC to be named. The Jackson, Tennessee, native continued his commitment to the community even during a busy football season. Smith is an active speaker to youth groups, elementary schools and organizations across the state and led coat drives for Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry (KARM) during the 2018 and 2019 seasons where over 1,000 coats were donated each year because of his efforts. - Tennessee Football

(DS#4 OG) Sr/2021

OG Trey Smith, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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07/26/20 - Hendon Hooker, rSr/2023, Tennessee, 6-3, 217 (DS#5 QB) + More +

2020 PRESEASON MAXWELL AWARD WATCH LIST: QB Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech,...Hooker (6-4, 228), started in eight contests in 2019, earning wins in each of his first six starts under center beginning with a thrilling 42-35 win at Miami. For the season, the redshirt junior had a stellar 165.75 efficiency rating after completing 99 of 162 passes for 1555 yards and 13 TDs. He set the program record for passes to begin a career without an INT with a streak of 124 attempts. A dynamic threat rushing the football, Hooker carried the ball 123 times for 356 yards and found the end zone five times. - Virginia Tech Football

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2023

QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
News Source: Virginia Tech Football
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07/23/20 - Cade Mays, rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-5, 311 (DS#24 OT) + More +

2020 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST: G Cade Mays, Tennessee,...Mays, who will be a junior this season, transferred to UT from Georgia in the offseason after playing a key part on the Bulldogs' offensive line the past two years, playing in 25 games while making 18 starts. Mays was a FWAA Freshman All-American and SEC All-Freshman team selection in 2018. The junior showed his versatility last season, starting at least one game at every position along the offensive line except for center, while helping lead the Bulldogs to a Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor. - Tennessee Football

(DS#24 OT) rSr/2022

OT Cade Mays, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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07/22/20 - Trey Smith, Sr/2021, Tennessee, 6-6, 321 (DS#4 OG) + More +

2020 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST: G Trey Smith, Tennessee,...Smith is coming off a dominant junior campaign in which he helped lead the Vols to six consecutive victories to end the season, including a thrilling comeback win over Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. He was one of eight SEC players named to the first team, the most of any conference. The Jackson, Tennessee, native received All-SEC first-team accolades from the league's coaches and media after starting 12 games in 2019. Smith's incredible return to football as well as his impactful work off the field and in the community earned him the inaugural Fritz Pollard Trophy and the 2019 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. During the offseason, Smith elected to forgo the NFL Draft and return to school for his senior year. - Tennessee Football

(DS#4 OG) Sr/2021

OG Trey Smith, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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07/18/20 - Austin Pope, rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-4, 235 (DS#999 TE) + More +

Austin Pope, the Tennessee Vols' most experienced tight end, had surgery Thursday on a herniated disc. The Vols senior wrote on Twitter that had been dealing with "nerve pain" stemming from his lower back. It is his second herniated disc procedure, as Pope said he had another two years ago. "I had surgery this morning and am recovering at home right now," Pope said. "I really would appreciate any support in these tough times." Pope shared that he had an MRI on Monday morning, leading to unexpected results. He was informed he had a herniated disc. "I've been very down and disappointed because I already had back surgery two years ago on a different disc," Pope wrote. Pope did not indicate a timetable for return. - Knoxville News Sentinel

(DS#999 TE) rSr/2022

TE Austin Pope, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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07/16/20 - Austin Pope, rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-4, 235 (DS#999 TE) + More +

Tennessee tight end Austin Pope says he had surgery Thursday to repair a herniated disk in his back. Pope shared the update in a Twitter post, saying he had been dealing with a lot of nerve pain stemming from his lower back. An MRI exam on Monday showed Pope had a herniated disk between the L3-L4 vertebrae, requiring surgery. Pope also had a different herniatated disk two years ago repaired surgically. "I love this game, my teammates, and my coaches and I will do anything to help this program succeed," Pope wrote. "Prayers would be appreciated. Minor setback for a major comeback." The 6-foot-4, 235-pound redshirt senior has started 14 of his 33 career games and is primarily a run blocker. He had four catches for 21 yards last season. - AP College Football

(DS#999 TE) rSr/2022

TE Austin Pope, Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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06/28/20 - Hendon Hooker, rSr/2023, Tennessee, 6-3, 217 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker is back on campus looking to pick up where he left off. The Hokies started voluntary workouts on June 16, but Hooker was one of the players that left campus back in March and wasn't brought back until last week. Before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the sports world upside down, Hooker went into the offseason looking to build on his successful stint as starter. He helped turn Tech's 2019 season around going 6-2 under center with 1,900-plus total yards and 18 touchdowns. Hooker focused his early efforts on further cementing himself as a locker room leader by frequently popping into the weight room to support his teammates before and after his own workout. Tech's strength and conditioning staff split the team up into three groups for the winter offseason conditioning program.

On one particular 'big squat Friday' in February, Hooker worked out in the early morning and was back in the weight room a couple hours later for the afternoon weight-lifting session to cheer on the likes of Maxx Philpott, Austin Cannon, Keshon Artis and Brock Hoffman lift upwards of 600 pounds. When the team parted ways a few weeks later, Hooker returned home to Greensboro where his focus shifted from building camaraderie to staying physically prepared while the team was apart. "He was always comparing what he would be doing back on campus (in a normal year)," Hendon's father Alan said in a phone interview with The Roanoke Times. "He was training hard, he was pushing himself because he was worried he wasn't doing enough. If he was at school he would have coaches constantly pushing him, so he always went a little harder." - Roanoke Times

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2023

QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
News Source: Roanoke Times
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06/10/20 - Cade Mays, rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-5, 311 (DS#24 OT) + More +

Tennessee football played the waiting game last summer as defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon sought an NCAA transfer waiver. Finally, on Aug. 27, less than a week away from UT's season opener, the Vols learned that Solomon received his waiver and would be eligible to play. A year later, the Vols once again find themselves waiting to learn the fate of a key transfer who projects to step into a prominent role if he receives his waiver. The waiver quest for offensive lineman Cade Mays, a transfer from Georgia, continues.

Mays initially had two avenues to get on the field this season. The NCAA had considered voting this spring on a one-time transfer exception rule that, if passed, would allow transferring players to play at their new school immediately, as long as they have not previously transferred. However, the NCAA opted not to take up the issue and pushed it off until after this season. Now, Mays' hope of playing this season rests with his waiver quest. He's represented by power attorney Tom Mars. - Knoxville News Sentinel

(DS#24 OT) rSr/2022

OT Cade Mays, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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03/08/20 - Jauan Jennings, rSr/2020, Tennessee, 6-3, 215 (DS#40 WR) + More +

Jauan Jennings knows what his top priority should be. His showing at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last week was significantly underwhelming, after all. Not all that surprising - "A lot of scouts, they asked me what I was going to run, and I told them straight up, 4.6, 4.7," Jennings said Saturday - but underwhelming nonetheless. The former Vols wide receiver's 4.72-second 40-yard dash ranked second worst at his position at the Combine. So did his 29-inch vertical leap. UT's pro day is March 26. Jennings said his goal was to run in the 4.6s then. That's where his focus is - but not all of it.

"It should be my No. 1 priority," Jennings said. "But Nashville's my No. 1 priority right now." That's why the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder receiver turned his autograph session Saturday at Man Cave Ink in Mt. Juliet into a donation dropoff to aid those affected by the tornado that swept through middle Tennessee earlier this week. "After this, I'm going right back into the field," Jennings said. "Putting my hard hat on." - Daily News Journal

(DS#40 WR) rSr/2020

WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee
News Source: Daily News Journal
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03/06/20 - Lyn-J Dixon, rSr/2023, Tennessee, 5-09, 188 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Clemson offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott was meeting with junior tailback Lyn-J Dixon in mid-January when the phone rang. They were speaking about expectations for Dixon in 2020. On the other end of Elliott's buzzing phone was Tigers star running back Travis Etienne, ready to deliver news to his position coach about his future. Etienne was given a late first or early second round draft grade. He had been contemplating whether to enter the 2020 NFL Draft or return for his senior season. He called Elliott and informed him that he was coming back to Clemson for one final year. "It was kind of awkward because I was talking to Lyn-J. And I didn't know what Travis was going to do," Elliott said. "(Travis) called me and that's when he told me right there. I let Lyn-J know and said, 'You've just got to make a decision.'"

The decision Dixon had to make was whether to return to Clemson to again serve as Etienne's backup, or to transfer in search of a new home. Dixon was naturally a bit disappointed in Etienne's choice, according to Elliott. The Georgia native averaged 7.1 yards per carry in his first two seasons for the Tigers, good for second in school history behind only Etienne, and he proved capable of starting at a Power 5 program. With Etienne returning, Dixon won't get the chance to start at Clemson this year. "It was nothing personal to Travis. They've got a great relationship. But he was kind of hopeful that Travis was going to move on so that he could naturally step into that (role)," Elliott said. - The State

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2023

RB Lyn-J Dixon, Tennessee
News Source: The State
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02/22/20 - Aubrey Solomon, rSr/2022, Tennessee, 6-4, 325 (DS#999 DT) + More +

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt continued revamping his staff by hiring Jimmy Brumbaugh as co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach and Shelton Felton as outside linebackers coach. Brumbaugh spent the last two seasons as Colorado's defensive line coach. He also has coached at Maryland and Kentucky among other schools. He worked alongside current Tennessee defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley at Kentucky. Felton was Akron's outside linebackers and defensive line coach in 2019 after spending 2018 as a quality control assistant at Tennessee. "They are both tireless workers and will bring a lot of positives to the staff in terms of coaching and recruiting," Pruitt said in a statement. Brumbaugh and Felton join running backs coach Jay Graham and tight ends coach Joe Osovet as additions to Tennessee's coaching staff. Graham previously coached Tennessee's running backs in 2012 but spent the last two years filling that role at Texas A&M. Osovet filled an off-field role as Tennessee's director of football programming this past season. - AP College Football

(DS#999 DT) rSr/2022

DT Aubrey Solomon, Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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02/21/20 - Marquez Callaway, Sr/2020, Tennessee, 6-1, 205 (DS#38 WR) + More +

2020 NFL COMBINE INVITE: Marquez Callaway, WR, Tennessee,...Callaway concluded his Volunteer career as one of UT's most prolific returners and receivers. He finished with 92 receptions for 1,646 yards and 13 touchdown receptions to go along with three punt return scores and a 13.6 punt return average. The Warner Robins, Ga., native wrapped up his time on Rocky Top ranking second in UT history in punt return scores and fourth in punt return average, while finishing No. 16 in receiving yards. He had 30 catches for 635 yards and six scores as a senior in 2019 and ranked first in the SEC in yards per catch (21.2). - Tennessee Football

(DS#38 WR) Sr/2020

WR Marquez Callaway, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee Football
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