Five-star offensive lineman and Knoxville native Cade Mays, a long-time Tennessee commit, recently reopened his recruitment with four other schools making a strong push for his services.
Mays, who committed to the hometown Vols two years ago, took an official visit to Clemson last weekend during the Tigers' win over Georgia Tech, which he told 247Sports' Kipp Adams on vsporto's SEC Recruiting Buzz podcast was a different experience.
"It was cool," Mays told 247Sports' Kipp Adams on vsporto's SEC Recruiting Buzz podcast. "I've spent three years going to every single Tennessee home game. And just being able to change the atmosphere a little bit, change the view, being able to see other places and see what else is out there is going to be really good for me."
Mays is still planning to take official visits to Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Georgia before making an official announcement on Dec. 20, which begins the new early signing period for the 2018 national recruiting cycle.
Mays ranks as the top-ranked player from the state of Tennessee, No. 2 offensive lineman and No. 15 overall prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. Despite being the son of a former Volunteer standout, Kevin Mays, and living minutes away from UT's campus, the five-star lineman says he hasn't been pressured to keep his commitment to the Vols.
"I pray about it every night and every day," he said. "God's in control of my future, and my parents have done a great job instilling that in me, and my parents support me. My family supports me. And, outside of that, I'm not really worried about who else supports me.
"I mean, obviously my friends are going to support me, but my family supporting me is everything, because fans are going to jump on the bandwagon when I'm there and stuff. But they're not the ones that have to live with my decision.
"God's in control of my future. My family supports my future."
Tennessee has struggled during head coach Butch Jones' fifth season, which includes a 3-5 overall record and going winless in five conference games. Mays said it's "been very disappointing" to see the Vols struggling, but is still optimistic for a turnaround.
"It's just been disappointing this whole year," said Mays, who's ranked the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 class. "But, I mean, the season's not over. I believe in what (offensive line) coach (Walt) Wells is doing, and hopefully they can turn things around on this last stretch."
Mays committed to Tennessee back in July of 2015. He is by fair Tennessee's highest rated commitment of the 2018 recruiting class.
