Josh Heupel addresses the Jourdan Thomas injury, what it means for Boo Carter and the Vols
Jourdan Thomas sat just beyond the corner of the end zone Friday night at Neyland Stadium, his injured leg propped up and crutches leaning against the wall next to him. One by one, his Tennessee teammates in the secondary stopped to greet him on their way off the field.
“He’s handled it with a ton of maturity,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after Friday’s scrimmage, addressing the season-ending injury Thomas suffered in practice last Saturday.
“Just being in the building, being around, being out here tonight with the guys. It matters to him. The guys care about him in a great way, too.”
‘That’s a guy that has steadily grown inside of our program as a player’
Heupel described it as a non-contact injury, one that required surgery. It was a tough blow for both Thomas, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior defensive back, and Tennessee’s secondary.
The Vols overhauled the backend of the defense over the offseason, with Thomas expected to play a much bigger role in his third year.
“And that’s a guy that’s just steadily grown inside of our program as a player, as a person off the field, as a leader inside of our room,” Heupel said. “It’s the tough thing about this game.”
Thomas appeared in 25 games over the last two seasons, recording 28 tackles, including two tackles for loss. He was a former three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Montgomery, Ala.,
Tennessee’s brand new secondary replaces the likes of Jaylen McCollough, Wesley Walker, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, Tamarion McDonald and Doneiko Slaughter.
Josh Heupel praises new-look Tennessee secondary after first scrimmage
Heupel praised the new-look defensive backfield after Friday night’s scrimmage, the first of fall camp.
“They’ve been great for the seven days before we got to the scrimmage tonight,” he said. “(They) compete extremely hard, take coaching, they’ve made plays, they learn from mistakes. Their athleticism tonight, played some really tight coverage down the field.
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“Just within the game, the subtle details that allow you to play it at a really high level in particular corners tonight, I thought they did a really, really good job.”
Boo Carter showing he can be ‘a dynamic playmaker’ for Vols
Heupel was also asked after the scrimmage what the Thomas injury could mean for freshman Boo Carter, the four-star in-state prospect out of Chattanooga.
“It gives all the guys opportunities,” Heupel said. “Boo has played really well. I thought the last couple days even leading into the scrimmage have been his best day just within the scope of what we do defensively, playing within the framework of that and making plays at the same time.
“He’s a young guy that needs to and will continue to get better every day, but he’s a dynamic playmaker.”
Heupel also mentioned redshirt sophomore Christian Harrison when asked about the Star position in Tennessee’s defense.
“(He has) done a generally nice job,” Heupel said. “We got multiple guys that can bounce around from the safety position to the Star. So we got to continue to build our guys in the secondary, but again tonight, really pleased with what they did.”
