As the 2025 college football season approaches, the Tennessee Vols’ top worry centers on a problem they haven’t faced since Josh Heupel became head coach in early 2021.
Cooper Mays, a native of Tennessee, has been the starting center for the Volunteers for the past four seasons.
During the first four years of the Heupel era, Mays, an all-time Vol who played for Tennessee for five seasons, had one of the most crucial positions on the field and consistently demonstrated leadership.
During Heupel’s first four seasons, the Vols’ offense experienced a lot of turnover at almost every position. But Mays gave Heuepl and his staff an area they didn’t have to worry about for four seasons: the center position.
However, Tennessee will need to find a new starting center this offseason after Mays left for the NFL after using up all of his NCAA eligibility.
Andrej Karic, an offensive guard, lost his petition for another season of eligibility this week, which made his assignment a little more challenging.
After playing only a few snaps in a fifth game in 2023, Karic, who began his career at Texas before transferring to Tennessee, was expecting to get another year of eligibility.
The Vols could have started Karic at left guard, Arizona transfer Wendell Moe at right guard, and Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton at center if Karic had been able to return to Tennessee for the 2025 campaign. Pendleton played guard at Notre Dame, but he took center reps during Fighting Irish practice and was listed as the program’s backup center in the second half of 2024.
Moe and Pendleton will probably start at guard since Karic won’t be able to make a comeback in 2025.
Former four-star recruit William Satterwhite is the most probable candidate to start at center.
As a backup center in 2024, Satterwhite made three appearances for the Vols and will be a redshirt freshman in 2025.
Max Anderson, a 2025 redshirt freshman, is an additional choice. In 2024, Anderson participated in two games and took center in practice. Another up-and-coming redshirt freshman, Jesse Perry, will compete at center as well.
Additionally, Tennessee might start Pendleton at center and Ayden Bussell, Sham Umarov, or one of the center alternatives mentioned above at guard.
Ahead of Heupel’s sixth season, the Vols have a few alternatives, but the answer to what is perhaps the biggest dilemma confronting Tennessee’s offensive is still unclear. Additionally, it eliminates what seemed to be the Volunteers’ most obvious solution because Karic is no longer appealing.
