5-Star OT Cade Mays Announces Decommitment from Tennessee

Cade Mays, one of the top offensive tackles in the 2018 college football recruiting class, announced Tuesday he's decided to decommit from the University of Tennessee.

Mays confirmed his decision with a post thanking the Volunteers' program on social media:

The Knoxville Catholic High School standout is a 5-star prospect who's rated as the No. 15 overall recruit in the 2018 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also listed as the second-best offensive tackle and the top player from Tennessee in next year's incoming group.

Mays made an early commitment to Tennessee in July 2015 and had remained firm in his desire to play for the Vols through this summer. In June, Jason Hall of Gridiron Now passed along comments the lineman made about UT on WNML Radio.

"It's been awesome since I laid the groundwork two or three years ago," he said. "To see this thing really take off. I remember tweeting as soon as I committed that this class was going to be the No. 1 class. For all the Vols fans out there let me just tell you it's going to be the No. 1 class."

Reaching that lofty goal will be even more difficult without Mays. The Volunteers are currently listed as the No. 13 class for 2018 by 247Sports. Meanwhile, the recruiting outlet lists powerhouse programs Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia and Notre Dame among the others with interest in the tackle.

Although Mays didn't identify a specific reason for his decision to reconsider college options, Tennessee is going through a tough year on the field. The Vols are 4-5, including an 0-5 mark in SEC play, which has landed head coach Butch Jones on the hot seat.

The 6'6'', 318-pound offensive lineman didn't provide a timetable for selecting a new school.