KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –– During Saturday’s 20-17 loss to Texas, Tennessee football offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr., went down with an injury four plays into Tennessee’s first drive of the game and did not return. The injury shifted the offensive line rotation to Shamurad Umarov to left guard and Donovan Haslam to right.
On Monday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was asked for an update on Moe Jr.’s status. Heupel, of course, deferred to Wednesday’s initial SEC availability report. However, on Wednesday night, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Moe is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Moe Jr. was off to a strong start. He played 38 snaps at left guard in the win over Kennesaw State (9/19) and did not allow a sack. In the road win at Georgia Tech (9/12), he saw action on all 66 offensive plays, did not allow a sack, and helped pave the way for 299 rushing yards. He started at left guard in the season opener against Furman (9/5), playing 37 offensive snaps without allowing a pressure as Tennessee piled up 329 rushing yards and 638 yards of total offense.
In a game that saw 10 sacks given up to the Texas defense, a culmination of things contributed to that. One being an offensive line that could not withstand the pressure, and another being the indecisiveness of quarterback Faizon Brandon. This offensive line unit through four weeks continues to have questions about their play, and injuries certainly do not help.
This Saturday, the No. 17 Vols host the Auburn Tigers. Their defense averages just 2.75 sacks a game. Saturday against Vanderbilt, they got to quarterback Jared Curtis four times in the 21-15 win. As for their run defense, the Tigers allow 127 yards per game at 3.1 yards per carry. For Tennessee, they should be in a great position to respond well against Auburn in both areas on offense.
