Tennessee left guard Wendell Moe Jr. will be out for the Vols' Week 5 matchup against Auburn and beyond.
Moe suffered a lower-body injury, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. He'll miss the rest of the 2026 season.
The plan from Josh Heupel's coaching staff is to move Sham Umarov from right to left guard and embrace West Virginia transfer Donovan Haslam on the right side. Haslam had a 63.3 overall grade, the second-best mark on the line against Texas, after Moe left the Week 4 game with just four snaps logged.
Still, Auburn's pass rush catches a major break here. Moe has played over 2,700 career snaps and has given up just two sacks throughout his career on Rocky Top and at Arizona.
While communication will be improved for UT's offense along the line over the last week in practice, Moe's strengths directly match the Tigers' biggest strength.
The Vols lose a major strategic advantage here.
Auburn excels in interior pass-rushing
DJ Durkin's two most ferocious pass-rushers, Xavier Atkins and Elijah Melendez, specialize in attacking the A and B gaps. Without Moe, that job becomes significantly easier.
Moe's footwork can handle athletes like that. Moe slimmed down over the offseason for matchups like Auburn.
Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon was brought to the ground 10 times against an elite Longhorns pass rush without Moe. The Tigers admittedly don't have the same level of talent as Texas, but Auburn could still make it a tough day for Brandon.
Brandon hasn't had a truly standout passing game just yet, and the Tigers can keep it that way by disrupting the backfield again.
Coming off a four-sack, eight-TFL outing against Vanderbilt in a 21-15 win, Auburn's defense has momentum on its side.
Auburn cannot sleep on DeSean Bishop
The Tigers cannot lose sight of Vols running back DeSean Bishop, who doesn't favor the left or the right side but specializes in the A and B gaps.
Bishop has 5.9 rushing yards per carry thus far and has found the end zone four times, half of them coming in short-yardage situations. Both of them came behind Moe, though.
If there's a way Tennessee can win ugly, it's by controlling the clock on the ground. The Commodores just had the ball for 37 minutes and 32 seconds against the Tigers. Auburn's running game hasn't gotten off the ground yet on the other side.
We'll see how much Moe's absence will be felt. The Tigers seriously caught a break without him on the left side this Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
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