Tennessee football is overhauling its defense, and one of the priorities seems to be at safety. While Edrees Farooq showed flashes in his second-year and could be a valid option in 2026, he’ll have an opening next to him.
The first step was changing up the staff. Josh Heupel fired defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks and replaced the defensive coordinator duties with Jim Knowles and hired Anthony Poindexter as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
Now, UT is looking to bring in top talent. One of the names to know as Tennessee looks through the transfer portal is Kansas State transfer Qua Moss. He is visiting the Vols, along with Kentucky and Florida State, according to Matt Zenitz.
Kansas State safety transfer Qua Moss is visiting Tennessee and also plans to visit Kentucky and Florida State, his agents @david_benzaken and @IanGrutman tell @chris_hummer and me.
Tallied 41 tackles and two interceptions at Kansas State this season. https://t.co/dIT1LjUK08 pic.twitter.com/PokMVZUyeH
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 3, 2026
More From RTI: Former Tennessee Offensive Lineman Back in Transfer Portal After Year Off From Football
Moss ranks as the No. 237 player in the transfer portal and No. 15 player at safety at this point, according to 247. While safety is certainly an option for him to play if he picked the Vols, he could also fill in at the nickelback position that the Vols will need to replace with Jalen McMurray out of eligibility and Boo Carter in the transfer portal.
This past year, Moss played a good bit of that slot cornerback role for the Wildcats. He registered a PFF grade of 68.4 on the year with a total of 513 snaps played. On the season, Moss posted 41 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble. He also registered two carries on offense for a total of 26 yards.
Moss began his career at Dodge Community College before moving up to West Georgia. This past season was his first with Kansas State. He will be a true senior next season.
