Much has been and will continue to be made about Cade Mays’ return to Athens this weekend with his new team, Tennessee. However, while some might think his former teammates will be harboring hard feelings about the way his situation went down—that does not appear to be the case.

“We love Cade at Georgia. We all wish him the best,” running back Zamir White said. “There’s a lot of people happy for him.”

He is not the only Bulldog who feels that way.

“It will be like old times in practice,” defensive end Malik Herring said. “It will be a great matchup.”

By now, Mays’ story is a familiar one.

Mays transferred to Tennessee shortly after Georgia’s Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor, which was followed by claims of Mays’ family attorney Tom Mars that his client was dealing with a “toxic environment” at UGA, and that the University had leaked information of a suit involving Mays’ father Kevin, in which the father claimed his “right pinky finger was severed” at Sanford Stadium when his son was on his official visit to Georgia on Dec. 15 of 2017.

Georgia officials have publicly denied both claims.

Mays sat out the Vols’ season-opener at South Carolina. He returned to action last week against Missouri, following SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey’s decision to issue a blanket waiver to what sources say were a dozen student athletes requesting waivers for immediate play at their new conference school.

Sankey would make it clear in a statement to reporters that his decision was absolutely no reflection of claims by any of the student-athletes against their former schools.

Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart was asked if the situation involving Mays had soured his relationship with Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who said the lawsuit should be reason enough for the waiver to go through, prior to Sankey’s recent decision.

“Not really,” Smart said. “I know guys in the SEC will do anything they can to get guys eligible, and that’s their decision.”

Smart said he had no idea during the Sugar Bowl that Mays was contemplating a move.

“No. I didn’t have a sense then. I thought Cade had done a tremendous job for us. I’ve got a lot of respect for Cade as a player and as a person,” Smart said. “That’s all I can say about it. He's no longer with us. I'm looking forward to the matchup. He’s a really good football player, one of the toughest players I've been around, and I'm looking forward to the matchup.”

Senior right guard Ben Cleveland harbors no grudges, either.

“We were always good when he was here; you can’t shake your head at the kid for wanting to do what was best for him and his family,” Cleveland said. “Ultimately, that's what everybody here on the team wants; we want what’s best for you and what’s best for your family. I feel like we stood behind him as his teammates as he went on that journey.”

Junior wide receiver Matt Landers has drawn a lot of criticism from fans when he appeared not to go all out for a long pass from Stetson Bennett. The play looked as if it would have gone for a score in last Saturday’s win over Auburn.

Smart acknowledged Landers still has improvements to make.

During Monday’s Zoom session with reporters, Smart was asked about the specific play and whether he was disappointed in his performance.

“That’s a situation where we’re really selling him on driving and really pushing vertical before he looks back,” Smart said. “He didn’t find the ball right away, which is unfortunate, because you would like for him to make that play. I still think Matt is a talented player who's working to get better every day.”

He will continue to get that chance.

“Matt has actually had a really good camp. Matt is learning our new system, and being able to play and execute is really important for Matt to know that,” Smart said. “He’s contributed on special teams.”

Smart repeated his statement from Saturday as it pertains to the status of running back James Cook, who left the game in the second half with what was described as a mild shoulder injury.

“James will be day-to-day,” Smart said. “We’re trying to get him back. We think he's going to be okay to go. We thought he could’ve gone on Saturday night, but again, I’ll know a lot more after practice today, because I haven’t seen those guys.”

Smart also said that senior linebacker Jermaine Johnson—who dressed but did not play due to an undisclosed injury—could have done so if needed.

“He was a little dinged up going into the last game, and we were going to use him if we needed to, if we thought we really needed him,” Smart said. “The way the game played out, we didn’t necessarily have to. We feel good about him, and he’s working to get healthy.”

Smart didn't have an update on senior linebacker Walter Grant, who has missed the first two games. But he did offer one on offensive lineman Netori Johnson, who traveled to Arkansas but did not dress out against Auburn.

From the sound of it, Johnson may be gone for a while.

“Netori (Johnson) is focusing on academics and focusing on some other things right now,” Smart said.

Zamir White’s eyes lit up when asked about the Bulldogs’ new goal line package that now includes defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter as extra blockers.

“Man, that’s easy. You've got Jordan Davis out there, 6-foot-6, I don't even know the weight. That's a dude,” White said. “Then you got Jalen—he’s such a big, physical guy.”

Indeed.

Both times offensive coordinator Todd Monken employed the formation, the result was a pair of one-yard touchdown runs by White.

“For me, it doesn’t get much better than that,” White said.

Ben Cleveland was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week following his performance in Saturday’s 27-6 win over Auburn.

The senior graded out 83 percent during the Bulldogs’ victory.

“Honestly, walking off the field against Auburn, I didn’t think I played very well, to tell you the truth,” Cleveland said. “Honestly, I felt I left some things out on the field. But after going back and watching, I saw I played better than I thought I did, so I was pleased with that. But I definitely still have room for improvement.” The award marked the second such honor for Cleveland, who was awarded the same accolade following his performance during last year’s game against Missouri.