Tennessee starting offensive guard Wendell Moe Jr. is not listed on the Wednesday night injury report ahead of the Vols’ regular-season finale against Vanderbilt. This indicates that he will be good to play this Saturday vs. Vanderbilt.
The Vols listed Moe as questionable on its Wednesday and Thursday night injury reports last week before removing him from the report on Friday night, indicating that he would play against Florida. However, Moe did not play a single snap against Florida, even when David Sanders Jr. briefly exited the game due to injury.
Moe suffered an injury in the second half of Tennessee football’s 42-9 win over New Mexico State last week. It’s unclear what the injury was, but Moe was down for a good bit of time and went straight to the injury tent before not returning to the game.
An Arizona transfer, Moe started the first 10 games for Tennessee this season. He began the season at right guard after David Sanders suffered an injury late in fall camp, leading to Tennessee reshuffling its line and inserted Sham Umarov at left guard. Since Sanders has returned from injury, Moe has played both left and right guard as the Vols have tinkered with numerous offensive line combinations.
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Through 10 games this season, Moe has played 674 snaps and totaled a 74.2 PFF grade. Moe is Tennessee’s highest graded offensive lineman this season, according to PFF, edging out David Sanders, Lance Heard and Jesse Perry.
While Moe is available, Tennessee may still opt to insert Umarov in at left guard and play Perry at right guard. The Vols have frequently played six offensive linemen this season, so while the injury would be significant, it would not insert any player into a spot they have not been in this season.
Tennessee enters the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt boasting an 8-3 (4-3 SEC) record. The Vols are out of College Football Playoff contention, but can play spoiler to the Commodores’ playoff hopes while keeping the chances of a 10-win season alive.
Vanderbilt enters the matchup 9-2 (5-2 SEC) and is ranked No. 14 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Even with a win, the Commodores would still need some help to make the playoffs. Vanderbilt’s two losses came on the road this season as they lost at Alabama and again at Texas.
