Defensive lineman Jaxson Moi knew he could play at Tennessee, but he wanted to do more than that. The transfer from Stanford wanted to be a leader among the Vols he played alongside.
“I was always very confident in myself and my abilities coming in here, but I know that anywhere, anybody can try to be a leader, but nobody will follow you if you can’t back up your talk with how you play,” said Moi as Tennessee prepares for Kentucky at 7:45 EST in Neyland Stadium on Saturday. “Coming in here, I knew I wanted to be a leader, but in order to do that, I knew I had to perform on the field as well so that people could eventually follow me. And I still have a lot of work to do and still trying to grow into a leadership role, but I’m definitely excited for the challenge of doing that.”
Moi has proven he can play, especially against Alabama when he had two tackles and one for a loss. That gives him 3 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles this season. Not bad for a player who was at Stanford last season before agreeing to take on the rigors of being an SEC defensive lineman.
Moi is part of a unique brotherhood at Tennessee. He is one of several Polynesian players that have become Vols through various means. Of course, quarterback Nico Iamaleava is the most prominent Polynesian player at Tennessee, but linebacker Keenan Pili was certainly a force before being lost in the Florida game to a season-ending knee injury.
“First of all, Keenan, that hurt me deeply because he’s like a big brother to me,” Moi said. “So just seeing him down, him being the leader of our defense, it hurt. It hurt us emotionally and just not having that big piece there. But I think the defense, we all kind of came together.
“I know me, personally, and I know some other guys as well…dedicated the rest of my season to him just because he’s done so much, not only for this program, but for a lot of people here. So just trying to honor him and the way that we play and carry ourselves on and off the field for sure.”
While there was consternation over Pili, there was no concern about Iamaleava.
“Nico is a baller,” Moi said. “He’s a young guy, but, man, he’s just so calm. He doesn’t let anything faze him. He doesn’t. And he’s a great leader. Very soft spoken, very humble. I just can’t wait. The sky’s the limit for that guy and I just can’t wait to see all the great things he does.”
Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner seems to think Moi is a “baller” as well. Moi’s playing time has gradually increased among the abundance of defensive linemen on the Vols’ roster.
“He is the first one that I’ve been blessed to have an opportunity to coach, Garner said of Moi and his Polynesian descent. “I mean it’s everything that I dreamed that it would be, what he stands for, his character, his work ethic.
“It’s been really good for that room. And he has fit in great with that room. I’m really excited about just continuing to see his growth, because I do think that he has true natural leadership ability, which, in this generation, that stuff’s getting harder and harder to find. So when you have it and you find it, you gotta cherish it.
“I’m really excited about where he’s headed and what he can mean to our program in the direction that we want our program to continue to go in.”
Both as a player and a leader.
