A Tennessee player who was on the field for just a handful of snaps in 2025 is likely going to play an important role for Vols in 2026
The Tennessee Vols will likely need to rely on some players with very little experience this upcoming season.
One of the amazing things about Josh Heupel’s tenure as the Tennessee Vols’ head coach is that he’s only had two primary starting centers since getting hired in early 2021.
Cooper Mays served as the Vols’ starting center for the first four seasons of the Heupel era.
Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton served as Tennessee’s starting center in 2025, and he’s set to return to that role in 2026.
Pendleton’s goal is to play as many snaps as he can in 2026. But there’s a good chance that the backup center will be needed at some point this fall.
Who will be Tennessee’s backup center in 2026?
A year ago, William Satterwhite and Max Anderson served as the top two backup centers (Satterwhite was the top backup option).
Satterwhite, however, transferred to LSU this offseason, and Anderson transferred to Kentucky.
So who will serve in that role for the Vols in 2026?
Based on Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee’s comments on Saturday, it sounds like it’ll be redshirt freshman Nic Moore, who played just 18 snaps last season.
“Nic [is] super talented,” said Elarbee when asked about Moore and the backup center job. “He’s done a great job. So much more consistent. Again, everything’s just slowed down for him. He’s powerful. In the run game, he can create movement. He can anchor. He’s done a great job. He’s had to take a few more reps this spring, but he’s done a good job with it.”
Moore, 6-foot-3/315 pounds from Talbott, TN, is a former four-star recruit who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 4 player in the state of Tennessee and the No. 13 interior offensive lineman in the 2025 recruiting class.
Sophomore Antoni Ogumoro was also mentioned by Elarbee, but Moore, at least for now, is likely the top backup option at center for the Vols.
The center position can take some time to learn in Heupel’s offense. And unfortunately for the Vols, because a couple of players chose to transfer instead of waiting their turn, Tennessee will have an inexperienced backup at one of the most important positions on the field in 2026.