Mays is the latest five-star prospect to commit to Georgia
Sam Pittman stood in front of a camera once to belt out his quirky “Yes, sir” phrase to celebrate an addition to his offensive line unit.
Then he had to do it again.
Georgia capped off a five-deep group of incoming offensive linemen with another five-star recruit as Cade Mays, of Knoxville, Tennessee, announced his intention to sign with the Bulldogs in a nationally televised ceremony. Mays joined five-star offensive guard Jamaree Salyer as prospects to give their pledge to the program just before signing their national letters of intent.
“I just liked Athens a lot when I got there,” Mays said on ESPNU after he revealed a Georgia t-shirt to announce his decision. “(Georgia head coach Kirby) Smart has this program in the right direction and they just make you feel like family. It was where I wanted to spend my next four years.”
In retrospect, it was clear Pittman, Georgia's offensive line coach, pre-recorded the two videos. One was made for Salyer and one was made for Mays. During Georgia's practice, Mays announced his decision with Pittman's second video popping up on his Twitter account.
Mays chose Georgia over Clemson and Ohio State. The recruiting success on the line has been long-awaited for Georgia as, before last year, it hadn’t signed a five-star since 2012 in John Theus. It has now landed three of the nation’s top prospects (Mays, Salyer and freshman Isaiah Wilson) throughout Pittman’s first two full seasons with the program.
“This class can arguably be the top offensive line in the country, along with last year’s,” said three-star offensive tackle Owen Condon, who signed his letter-of-intent earlier Wednesday morning. “The talent that’s in that offensive line room, it’ll be scary to see what we can do on the field.”
Mays, a 6-foot-6, 318-pound offensive tackle, was initially set on playing in Neyland Stadium as a Tennessee Volunteer for quite some time. Mays attends high school at Knoxville Catholic, 11 miles from Tennessee's campus. His father, Kevin Mays, played for the Volunteers under Johnny Majors and Phillip Fulmer from 1991-94.
But when a coaching change occurred during a 4-8 campaign for Tennessee, it opened the door for Georgia and other programs to make a push. Mays unofficially visited Georgia on Nov. 4 for the South Carolina game. The Bulldogs then finished the job last weekend as they hosted an assemblage of prospects for the last official visit before the early signing period.
After Mays eliminated Tennessee, it seemed to be a two-horse race between Georgia and Clemson for the services of the nation's second-best rated offensive tackle. Clemson ended up with five-star Jackson Carman earlier Wednesday morning, so it became evident that the Bulldogs would likely land Mays.
“It was just personal, and I felt like I should do my due diligence out of respect for myself (and look elsewhere than Tennessee),” Mays said. “I looked to see if I could find a new home for myself and I obviously did that.”
As he takes a different path than his father, one of the most-coveted names in the 2018 class gets to start his own legacy.
Mays became the fifth five-star prospect to commit to Georgia, and the Bulldogs hold the second-best national recruiting ranking behind Ohio State. After things once looked bleak for Georgia head coach Kirby Smart during the summer, he has put his latest recruiting class in a position to potentially be the nation’s best when it finishes up on Feb. 7.
This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Mays is the latest five-star prospect to commit to Georgia."