Volume 1, Issue 7: Tennessee Adds First Transfer Portal Addition In IOL Wendell Moe Jr.
The Vols won't have to be as proactive in the portal as they have been the previous three years under Josh Heupel.
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Tennessee has a College Football Playoff game on Saturday night in Columbus vs. Ohio State. However, the transfer portal is open and several Volunteers have entered the portal over the last week.
The college football calendar is a mess at this time of year, that much is obvious, but the Vols have to be active in the portal while also getting ready for the Buckeyes. Just the way it is right now.
Well, the Vols landed their first 2025 transfer portal addition this week in Arizona transfer guard Wendell Moore Jr. With Javontez Spraggins gone after this season, along with it not being known as of yet if Andre Karic will get one more year of eligibility in 2025, the Vols could be looking at an offensive line with as many as four new starters on it.
Cooper Mays, Spraggins, Karic, John Campbell Jr. and Dayne Davis all out the door with Lance Heard being the lone returning starter is very much a possibility.
So, it’s been expected that the Vols would be active in addressing the interior of their offensive line for 2025 in the transfer portal.
The first domino fell this week for the Vols with Moe Jr.’s commitment. A lineman who can play both the right and left guard spots and started 11 of the Wildcats’ 12 games this season.
That versatility will be huge for offensive line coach Glen Elarbee with Karic’s future in Knoxville still unclear for 2025.
Tennessee has recruited well on the offensive line in the last two cycles. Former 4-star freshman William Satterwhite could be the heir apparent for Mays at center next season. Former four-star redshirt freshman Sham Umarov could be one Elarbee’s starters across the interior of the offensive line for 2025. Along with 5-star freshman David Sanders Jr. coming in at offensive tackle for 2025 as well.
Ultimately, Moe Jr. looks like a nice first addition out of the transfer portal for the Vols and it should be interesting to see just how many players head football coach Josh Heupel and his staff ultimately take on the offensive line this cycle.
TODAY ON THE CHASE THOMAS PODCAST
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy & VFL. On today's program, Chase is joined by More Important Issues' Caleb Mitchell and Landon Raby to talk about why Tennessee should be able to beat Ohio State, if the Vols tempo on offense will return, why Dont'e Thorton Jr. and Arion Carter will be MVPs for the Vols in the game, and why the 2025 schedule for Tennessee looks good for another CFP trip.
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What DC Tim Banks said about Tennessee’s cornerbacks
Tennessee has the best cornerback tandem they’ve had in a long time with Oregon State transfer Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III. The duo have been great and they’ve been available. It’s one thing to be really good, it’s another thing to be really good and play a lot of snaps.
McCoy in particular has been one of the best corners in the country this season. He’s the No. 9 overall corner this season, per PFF. Gibson has played 584 snaps in his first full season as a starter, while the aforementioned McCoy has played 640 snaps. As an added bonus, Temple transfer Jalen McMurray has also been a plug-and-play player for Tim Banks’ defense as the three corners all rank inside the top 100 in FBS in coverage grade, per PFF.
That is all to say that I thought this quote from Banks at his media availability press conference this week was interesting.
Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert highlighted the quote in his piece Tuesday.
Banks told reporters:
“Yeah, we have a lot of trust in those guys. Obviously you earn confidence by your play. And those guys have played extremely well all year. So anytime you got good corners, it takes the stress off other positions and allows us to do different things schematically.”
You can see that with this Volunteer defense this season. As good as Tennessee’s defensive line has been this season, it’s easy to overlook how critical McCoy and Gibson III have been for UT on the perimeter. One of the biggest questions coming into the season was in the secondary, and the Vols are tied for 17th in FBS QB Yards Per Attempt this season. They’ve allowed nine touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Opposing QBs are completing 56 percent of their passes against Banks’ defense.
Yes, it all starts up front for the Vols, but McCoy and Gibson III have played strong enough to take this Tennessee to a different level than we’ve seen in the previous three seasons under Banks on Rocky Top.
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The Chase Thomas Podcast Weekly Lineup
There are a lot of different ways to stay locked in on all the Tennessee Vols podcasting coverage I’m putting out every day.
Below is my weekly podcast lineup, so you always know what’s coming down the pike each day on the program. (Note: There are always surprise special Tennessee Vols guests that pop in throughout the week as well.)
MONDAY - A Pod Divided w/ Fellow University of North Georgia alumni Matt Green
TUESDAY - Tennessee Vols Sports Guys w/ Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert, Saturday Down South’s Ethan Stone and Omaha Production’s Jack Foster
WEDNESDAY - More Important Issues w/ Landon Raby & Caleb Mitchell
THURSDAY - A Pod Divided w/ Fellow University of North Georgia alumni Matt Green
THURSDAY - Vols Hoops Hour w/ Vol Report’s Ryan Sylvia
FRIDAY - Vols Best Bets & Tennessee Baseball w/ Omaha Production’s Jack Foster
(Final Note: All of this and more information on Knoxville’s No. 1 independent Tennessee Vols podcast is available over at the official website which you can find here.)
Make it a great Thursday, everyone.
Best,
Chase