Tennessee Volunteers opened their 2025 season on September 5 with a 38‑24 victory over Furman, but the win was marred by the absence of starting center Sam Pendleton, who was sidelined by an unspecified injury.
Pendleton, a transfer who came to Knoxville from Notre Dame in 2025, had served as the Volunteers’ starting center throughout the 2024 campaign and was expected to anchor the interior line this year.
In his place, sophomore Nic Moore, a 6‑foot‑3, 312‑pound athlete from Jefferson County High School, earned his first career start, stepping into the lineup with limited prior experience at the position.
Coach Josh Heupel and the Tennessee staff praised Moore’s readiness, noting that the sophomore’s size and strength should help plug the gap left by Pendleton, who has a history of playing through minor ailments.
Player Backgrounds
Sam Pendleton’s journey from Notre Dame to Tennessee included a season as the starting center in 2024, after which he dealt with several injury setbacks that limited his availability early in the 2025 campaign.
Nic Moore, meanwhile, entered the program as a highly touted recruit from Jefferson County, where he distinguished himself on the offensive line before earning a redshirt year and gradually working his way up the depth chart.
The loss of Pendleton underscores a broader concern for the Volunteers’ depth chart, as the team navigates a schedule that will test the durability of its front line throughout the season.