Report: Cade Mays’ eligibility appeal was filed last week by Tennessee

Cade Mays came home, that much we know. The former five-star prospect returned to Knoxville after two seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs. Now the only question that remains is whether or not he’ll become eligible to play this season.

Georgia got word that quarterback JT Daniels would be eligible for the upcoming season on Monday, bringing the Mays situation into question. Daniels transferred to Georgia six months after Mays made his decision to move on to Tennessee — why does he already have an answer on eligibility?

Jimmy Hyams reports that Tennessee and Mays didn’t file their waiver request until last week.

Mays’ attorney Tom Mars is confident that Mays can become eligible to play this season.

(Update via Trey Wallace: Mars is no longer working on this case.)

The Knoxville native started 18 games for the Bulldogs over the last two seasons. If eligible, Mays is expected to slide into a starting guard position for Tennessee, opposite of Trey Smith. Former five-star sophomores Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright should man the tackle spots, while sixth-year senior Brandon Kennedy returns to his center position.

Mays was committed to Tennessee during the 2017 season, but decommitted during the coaching change. He ended up signing at Georgia, but opted to come back to Knoxville following his brother Cooper’s commitment to Tennessee. Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman left to take the Arkansas head coaching job, perhaps giving Cade more motivation to leave.

Cade’s father Kevin, who played at Tennessee, is in the middle of a lawsuit against Georgia stemming from an incident that resulted in a severed finger during a recruiting event. That situation could play into Tennessee and Mays’ favor.

Tennessee went through a similar situation with Aubrey Solomon last season. The NCAA eventually determined that Solomon was eligible to play right away just a week before the season began last fall.

Will we see a similar timeline with Mays?