Tennessee football suffered its first major injury of the 2024 season a week ago when Jourdan Thomas went down with a non contact right knee injury that ended his junior season before it began.
Thomas was the favorite to win the starting STAR job for Tennessee this season and him suffering the injury before the season he was likely stepping into a starting role was a tough blow for both him and the Vols.
“Hate it for him,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said on Friday night. “A non contact (injury) 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. It’s a tough thing about this game and he’s handled it with a ton of maturity. 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. So it gives other guys opportunities.”
Following Friday night’s scrimmage at Neyland Stadium was the first time that Heupel’s talked to the media since Thomas suffered the injury and was an ideal spot to pick his brain about what’s next for Tennessee at the STAR spot.
The Vols have a handful of options at STAR but the most intriguing is freshman Boo Carter who was one of the top recruits in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class.
“Boo’s played really well,” Heupel said. “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.”
Carter was the fourth highest rated recruit in Tennessee’s signing class. He early enrolled in the winter and was full healthy going through spring practice. That increases the likelihood that he could be ready by the start of the season.
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The counterpoint against Carter is that Tennessee has played very few freshmen under Heupel and particularly not in the defensive backfield. Defensive backs coach Willie Martinez has leaned on veterans in the past but the Vols roster setup will force him to play younger contributors at corner this season. Will that make him want to lean in to playing more talented players at other spots or rely on experience at other spots?
Tennessee has options other than Carter at STAR but none of them have an abundance of experience either. However, they have been in the program for multiple years and likely have a firmer grasp on what Tennessee’s trying to do.
“Christian Harrison has done a really nice job,” Heupel said. “We got multiple guys that can bounce around, you know, from the safety position to the STAR. So we gotta continue to build our guys in the secondary, but again tonight, really pleased with what they did.”
Christian Charles is the most likely safety to bounce to the STAR spot. The veteran has played both corner and safety during his career and has flashed talent when he’s been able to stay healthy. Andre Turrentine and MTSU transfer Jakobe Thomas seem to have a step on him in the safety battle which makes it all the more likely he’ll get chances at STAR.
No matter who wins the starting job, heavy rotating is likely early in the season as Tennessee tries to find its top options at the spot.
