Tennessee football has as much depth along its defensive line as it does at any other position on its roster. So when the Vols added Stanford transfer Jaxson Moi to their roster this offseason defensive line coach Rodney Garner had a specific role in mind for the junior.
But during spring practice and the first week of fall camp, Moi has performed at a high level and is altering Garner’s plan for him.
“I was really excited about Jackson when he went in the portal and us recruiting him and all that,” Garner said on Wednesday. “Obviously I had one plan for him. He came in and he probably exceeded what I had in mind so he sort of deviated my plan. But I think Jackson’s gonna be a really good player for us and obviously he’s a tremendous leader.”
In his sophomore season at Stanford, Moi totaled 15 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one pass deflection and 10 quarterback hurries. His 60.3 PFF grade during his sophomore season was just average and would have ranked as only the ninth best amongst Tennessee defensive linemen.
But players often make their biggest jump from their sophomore to their junior years and it’s plausible that Moi has made significant improvements this offseason. Moi doesn’t know exactly what Tennessee’s expectations were for him when he got on campus, but one way he thinks he’s impressed Garner and the Vols’ staff is with his versatility.
“I don’t think people knew my skills that I have,” Moi said. “I think I was able to just showcase my versatility in spring ball and turn some heads. It’s still a long ways to go but definitely trying to show people what I got.”
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That versatility was on display at Stanford last season when he played defensive tackle, nose tackle and even a little bit of strongside defensive end. The 6-foot-2, 307-pound will almost certainly not play defensive end for Tennessee this season but he could play both defensive tackle and nose tackle.
Garner discussed how much he likes to rotate along the defensive line on Wednesday and while Tennessee already has an abundance of depth on its defensive line, Moi’s versatility could prove important if the injury bug strikes.
While that depth might have been a negative for some players considering Tennessee in the transfer portal, it was actually one of the main things that intrigued Moi about Tennessee.
“I wanted to be a part of a really explosive defense with a lot of defensive line production and I’d seen that that was very prominent here at Tennessee with Coach Banks’ defense but I also wanted to be a part of a great culture,” Moi said. “I’m a really big people person. I’m a locker room guy so just really getting to know Coach Heupel and his staff that he has built, the players that are within this locker room— there’s no better place for me.”
Moi has proved that he truly is a locker room guy and is fitting in well with the Vols’ unit. While he’s new to the Tennessee program he has already has real, big time college football experience which is helping him command respect inside the football facility.
“He’s gonna command respect in that locker room from everybody,” Garner said. “His teammates respect him. They like him, all of them. So I couldn’t be more excited to have him in my room than any other guys.”
