Sophomore Emmanuel Moseley will be starting at right corner in Tennessee’s season-opener against Bowling Green on Saturday.

There was a time people didn’t believe he could even play college football.

Moseley came to Tennessee weighing only 145 pounds, leading many people to believe he wasn’t strong enough to perform at a high level in the SEC.

He proved that assertion wrong in his freshman season. He played in all 13 games in 2014, starting in two.

Moseley also gained over 40 pounds since he arrived on campus in 2014 and expects the added weight will make him better in 2015.

“I just feel like I can hold the guys now,” Moseley said. “I am better with my jam and I am more stable at holding my ground.”

The weight didn’t have any effect on his speed.

“I really didn’t lose a lot of (speed),” Moseley said. “Once you put on weight, it comes into muscle after awhile and that just builds speed.”

But Moseley still hasn’t forgotten when people thought he couldn’t play football when he weighed 140.

However, he doesn’t let the memory negatively affect him.

“It’s a source of motivation,” Moseley said. “I still have it in my back of the mind. I am not going to forget about it because people did tell me that, but I just have to understand that people are going to say what they want to say and you just got to do what you got to do.”

The Jennings family: When he switched from quarterback to wide receiver over fall camp, Jauan Jennings said one of his expectations was to get on the field.

It’s safe to say he has far exceeded his expectations in the fall.

Jennings was listed as one of the first team wide receivers on the depth chart, being the only freshman to make the first team.

His only previous experience playing wide receiver was in the backyard with his brothers.

But it was the very same upbringing that allowed him to be in a position to start at wide receiver on Saturday.

Tennessee coach Butch Jones loves Jennings’ competitiveness—a trait he acquired growing up with his siblings.

“It didn’t matter if it was waking up to get to breakfast first,” Jennings said. “(We were) always wanting to compete. It has been like that since I was growing up and being a little kid. With my dad, we always talked about how he won a state championship in football and I didn’t.

“It is just instilled in me. It has always been in my family and that is the only way to live life is all I have been taught: you just got to be competitive. Nothing is going to be given to you, you got to earn it.”

Freshmen Maturity-The Vols played a record 21 true freshmen in last season’s opener against Utah State.

They could eclipse that number on Saturday.

Jones said in his press conference on Monday that 22 freshmen could play in Tennessee’s 2015 season-opener against Bowling Green. Seven freshmen are listed on Tennessee’s two-deep depth chart.

“Arguably, this football team, Team 119, could be younger than Team 118,” Jones said. “Again, it’s the game of the unknowns. How are these individuals going to react when the spotlight goes on and you’re playing for real now, and there’s a score on the scoreboard and everything’s about winning the football game?”

Junior quarterback Josh Dobbs isn’t too worried about them.

“I have noticed since the freshmen came on campus — the ones in January and over the summer — that we have a very mature freshmen group,” Dobbs said. “A freshmen group that is going to come in and make some plays during their first year here.

“They are ready to play and they understand the magnitude of it, and the magnitude of Tennessee football. And they are learning how to prepare.

“It’s obviously a constant work in progress, but they are learning and are catching on really fast.”

D-line reps: Defensive linemen Kahlil Mckenzie and Shy Tuttle were Tennessee’s two highest-touted prospects in the 2015 class.

On Tuesday, defensive coordinator John Jancek gave an update on how much the two freshmen will play in their Tennessee debut.

“(The reps) will depend on how many we play total as a defense,” Jancek said. “I would say 10-20 (reps). Somewhere in there.”

Starting safety: Jancek still hasn’t decided who will replace injured LaDarrell McNeil at safety on Saturday.

While Todd Kelly Jr. is listed as the starting strong safety alongside free safety Brian Randolph on the depth chart, Jancek said who will start at the position will be “a game time decision.”

“We are letting those guys compete,” Jancek said. “And work some things out. We will make that decision probably on game day.”

Extra Point: Jancek knows the scout team quarterback really well.

He is his son.

Freshman Zac Jancek is playing the role of Bowling Green’s starting quarterback. He played the same position at Knoxville Catholic, breaking school records in single-season passing yards (2,472) and single-season touchdowns (28) his senior season.

He walked-on at Tennessee and is a member of the scout team.

Jancek said that he is proud of his son, although he might be too good at his new role.

“He has actually made a couple good throws,” Jancek said. “And I am like, ‘Man, you can’t do that. I am going to have to take your cell phone or something.’ But It’s been fun.

“It’s been enjoyable. He has done a really good job. He has been yelled at enough now. He is ready to go.”