Gaston Moore wanted to find a balance between aggressive yet collected plays when he took over as Tennessee’s quarterback for the injured Nico Iamaleava against Mississippi State.
With Tennessee carrying a 20-7 lead over the Bulldogs to begin the second half at play, Moore was called upon to lead the Vols offense while Iamaleava remained in the locker room in what was later reported as concussion protocol. Moore ended up leading the Vols to the 33-14 over their SEC foe.
During a post-Mississippi State episode of The Players Lounge – Tennessee on YouTube this week, quarterbacks Gaston Moore and Jake Merklinger broke down last Saturday’s game and Moore’s role as Tennessee’s winning quarterback.
Merklinger pointed to Moore’s “super aggressive” playstyle as something that his teammates respect as Moore explained what his mindset was coming out of the locker room at halftime.
“First and foremost I was trying to stay ahead of the chains,” Moore said on the show. “When the shots were called and stuff like that, I was trying to take advantage of them. We had guys running down the field and I tried to give them a chance. They ended up getting pass interference calls or whatever, but yeah, I was just trying to play ball and do what I was coached to do. Not think too much about it, you know?”
In a behind-the-scenes video of the Mississippi State game that was released on Tennessee’s YouTube channel this week, head coach Josh Heupel’s nickname of “Gas Pipe” for Gaston Moore was revealed to the fanbase.
And the fanbase has seemingly loved every bit of it.
Moore completed 5-of-8 passes in the second half for just 38 yards but did uncork a few long passes down the field that were called for a penalty. Moore earned three pass interference calls on Mississippi State’s defense and gained Tennessee a total of 45 yards in the process. Two of the throws went deep down the left sideline to Squirrel White and Bru McCoy while the third was deep down the right sideline to Holden Staes. None were completed, but Moore certainly had no fear in taking his shots when he had the chance.
Hence the “Gas Pipe” nickname.
“It felt good being out there,” Moore said on the TPL show. “I just tried to stay ahead of the chains and keep the train rolling, you know what I’m saying?”
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While Tennessee did have the 13-point lead and the ball coming out of halftime, Moore admits that he did feel the pressure to keep the Vols’ offense rolling and not force his defense into game-saving positions.
“What was the score at halftime? I think it was like a two-possession, maybe, game? So, yeah, I mean it was a bigger deal than most would say, I think,” Moore said. “Because you’ve got to take care of the ball and you’ve got to stay ahead of the chains, keep running the offense and try to get up a couple more scores on them so we don’t have to really worry about that anymore. But, yeah, it was fun.”
Moore and the Vols’ offense put up 13 second-half points as the Vols cruised to the 33-14 victory in Neyland Stadium. Max Gilbert hit a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter which was followed by a Dylan Sampson 33-yard touchdown run and a 38-yarder from Gilbert to close out the game.
With Nico Iamaleava’s status listed as “questionable” in the initial Wednesday night injury report, it’s a bit up in the air for those on the outside as to which quarterback starts the game for Tennessee this Saturday against Georgia. Moore has served as Iamaleava’s backup throughout the entire season so far, totaling 201 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on the season.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more updates on Tennessee’s quarterback situation on Thursday night and throughout the week.
Check out the episode of TPL – Tennessee with QBs Gaston Moore and Jake Merklinger below:
