After the devastating home loss to Texas last Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers have suffered another major blow. On3's Pete Nakos reports that Vols left guard Wendell Moe suffered a lower-body injury against the Longhorns and will be out for the rest of the season.
The First Team All-SEC selection is considered one of Tennessee's leaders on its offensive line, and he allowed no sacks while on the field. He exited the game during the first half, and the Vols were not able to mount a comeback since. This led many fans to believe that the Vols may be done for, or at least have a tougher season ahead without him.
"Tennessee is a cursed program with season-ending injuries. I feel like this doesn't happen to any other team," one Vols fan said .
"We are so screwed. Geez," another Vols fan added.
After Moe exited the game, Texas players sacked quarterback Faizon Brandon ten times as the offensive line struggled without their leader. Sham Umarov has now been moved from right guard to left guard, while Donovan Haslam is the new right guard, per On3.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel spoke about losing his top lineman to injury and what Tennessee should do next.
"O-line has got to be better, can be better," he said. "At times we were giving up pressure off of chip protection. We have to be able to execute that better. There were times when the quarterback's eyes, decision-making, not getting rid of it when there's opportunities to get rid of it. Combining all that together and you have that personnel on the other side, you just can't play that way."
Last season, Moe started in 11 games, playing for a total of 689 offensive snaps. In his absence, the Vols' offensive line will be tested again on Saturday as they take on the Auburn Tigers .
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