Five-star OT Cade Mays de-commits from Tennessee

Tennessee's 2018 recruiting class took another major blow when five-star offensive lineman and Knoxville native Cade Mays announced his decision to back off his commitment to the Vols via an announcement on Twitter.

"This decision has been one of the hardest decisions I have made in my life," Mays wrote in the tweet. "... I would like to thank Coach Jones, Coach Wells and and the rest of the UT staff for everything they have done for me the past two years. Many people I have come in contact with at the University of Tennessee have had a tremendous impact on my life. After many talks with God and my family, I have decided to de-commit from the University of Tennessee."

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Mays had been committed since his sophomore year and it seemed unthinkable just a few months ago that he would end up anywhere but in Vols orange. But after Tennessee's struggles this season and the uncertain status of head coach Butch Jones, it became clear Mays would start explore back up options.

Mays has since visited Clemson and Georgia and will take an official visit Ohio State this weekend. He will also officially visit both the Tigers and Bulldogs as well as Notre Dame. Mays said Tuesday morning he intends to officially visit Tennessee for the Vanderbilt game on Nov. 25.

Mays said he doesn't plan to change his visit plans to Knoxville and his trips to South Bend (Dec. 8) and Athens (Dec. 15) are set and won't be moved. With the loss of Mays, Tennessee drops to No. 9 in the Rivals.com Team Rankings.