NEW YORK — The Boomer Esiason Foundation announced Monday that Tennessee senior Cooper Mays is a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, which annually recognizes the most outstanding center in college football.

Mays becomes the first player in Tennessee history to be named a Rimington Trophy finalist since the award’s inception in 2000. He is one of three final candidates recognized by the committee in 2024, joining Western Michigan redshirt senior Jacob Gideon and Ohio State graduate student Seth McLaughlin.

In his fourth-straight season as the starting center, the Kingston native anchored the Volunteers as UT produced a top 10 rushing offense and total offense in the country and punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff. Mays played a team-high 816 offensive snaps according to PFF and did not allow a sack or QB hit throughout the entire campaign, and he carries a current streak of 26 consecutive games without allowing a sack that dates back to the 2022 season.

Mays led an offensive line unit that paved the way for the top rushing attack in the SEC for the second year in row. Tennessee’s 232.0 rushing yards per game ranked first in the conference and ninth in the FBS, while its 462.9 yards of total offense per game were second in the league and eighth nationally. For their efforts, Tennessee’s offensive line was recognized as Joe Moore Award semifinalists for the third-straight season, joining Oregon as the only schools in the country to accomplish that feat.

While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:

Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)
Sporting News (SN)
Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)

The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.

The 2024 Rimington Trophy recipient will be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Saturday, Dec. 14, and honored at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Jan. 25, 2025.

2024 Tennessee Postseason Award Honors as of Dec. 9

DC Tim Banks
Broyles Award Semifinalist

DB Will Brooks
Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist

QB Nico Iamaleava
Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Semifinalist

OL Cooper Mays
Rimington Trophy Finalist

WR Bru McCoy
Witten Award Semifinalist
Comeback Player of the Year Semifinalist
SEC Community Service Team

DB Jermod McCoy
Thorpe Award Semifinalist

DE James Pearce Jr.
Bednarik Award Semifinalist
Lombardi Award Semifinalist
Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalist

LB Keenan Pili
NFF Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

RB Dylan Sampson
Maxwell Award Semifinalist
Doak Walker Award Semifinalist

Offensive Line
Joe Moore Award Semifinalist