Pruitt: Vols Prepping For Mays to Play, Still Awaiting SEC Approval

Last week, Jeremy Pruitt announced that Cade Mays had been approved by the NCAA to play football in the fall following his transfer from Georgia. 

At the time, Pruitt said, "Today we heard back from the NCAA – they approved Cade’s appeal. This has always been a two-step process. The next thing is the SEC. It’s good that our governing body decided to allow him to play. Now, we go to the SEC. I have not really had a chance to talk to (Commissioner) Greg (Sankey) much about it. I know this – in this whole thing from this pandemic, Greg Sankey has done a great job from a leadership standpoint with everybody within the conference and his No. 1 thing has always been the protection of the players and putting our student-athletes first. I have a lot of confidence in the outcome."

During today's press conference, Pruitt updated where things were with Mays, when asked if there was an update and how they had prepared. 

We've gotten no indication as of yet. I am sure they will. It just makes too much sense not to," Pruitt said during a Zoom call that was live on SEC Network and UT Sports.  

He continued by saying, "we have planned all along for Cade to be able to play. If you look at what went into the waiver process, it's pretty evident that the young man needs an opportunity to play, or deserves an opportunity to play.”

Mays announced his transfer from Georgia shortly after their Sugar Bowl win in January, and he has since returned to Tennessee to finish out his college career. The transfer story is one that has brought a lot of criticism, due to the fact the NCAA is not counting this season as a year of eligibility. 

Pruitt will be available to the media a couple of more times this week, which should allow further updates on Mays status heading into Saturday's 7:30 ET kickoff.