Florida vs. Tennessee: Vols Anticipate Starting OL ‘Being Ready to Play’

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida and Tennessee both anticipate the return of the teams’ starting centers, Kingsley Eguakun for the Gators and Cooper Mays for the Volunteers, from preseason injuries for Week 3’s contest between the bitter SEC rivals.

UF head coach Billy Napier acknowledged on Monday that Eguakun, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Aug. 16, would return to practice week. He did just that and was removed from the program’s injury report on Wednesday.

As for Mays, who reportedly underwent a minor medical procedure in August, UT head coach Josh Heupel provided a significant update on Thursday, stating his expectation that Mays too will return to the lineup.

“He will be going with us. He’s been really good all week long, so [we] anticipate him being ready to play,” Heupel told reporters about Mays on Thursday.

“Conditioning is one thing but even before he was back on the grass with us there was a lot of things he was doing with our strength staff. The flow of the game will dictate a little bit, how he’s feeling out there. That type of thing.”

A 2023 Preseason All-SEC third-team selection, Mays started 19 consecutive games in the middle of Tennessee’s offensive line dating back to 2021, before suffering his current injury.

Mays, like Eguakun, earned a spot on the 2024 Senior Bowl watch list this preseason.

“He’s smart, he’s competitive,” Heupel described Mays. “He communicates at a really high level. His experience is beneficial for us.”

Florida and Tennessee’s upgraded offensive lines will take the gridiron with the rest of the Gators and Volunteers on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

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