What Jourdan Thomas' Injury Means for Tennessee in 2024
You can't spell opportunity without UT
Sunday brought the announcement that Tennessee STAR back Jourdan Thomas suffered a season-ending injury to his knee.
While prayers and best wishes go out to Thomas for a speedy and full recovery, the next man up is blue-chip prospect Boo Carter. Vol fans fans have been excited about the idea of seeing Carter early this season, but the freshman will now be thrust into duty and counted on to become SEC-ready in a hurry. What does the injury to Thomas and sudden elevation of the freshman mean for UT in 2024? Let’s start with the basics:
What is a STAR back?
Twenty years ago, teams playing a 4-3 defense had a strong-side linebacker (SAM) that would line up toward the TE side of the offense (because that’s where most running plays would go) and typically was the first at the point of attack, taking on lead blocks while the middle linebacker (MIKE) and weak-side linebacker (WILL) came over the top to make tackles. Here’s an actual clip from UT’s 2002 defensive playbook, showing the base 4-3 alignment:
As offenses moved to being more pass-heavy, the SAM taking on lead blocks became less important, and a linebacker being able to cover TEs, RBs, and even slot WRs became imperative. That could be accomplished with a strong safety playing closer to the line of scrimmage, but then you’re putting even more players in the box against offenses that were developing into more and more spread-heavy schemes. You could also play more nickel defense, but that fifth DB was typically a cornerback, and trusting a CB to regularly get involved in stopping run plays is a good way to see your opponent fill the box score with rushing yards.
The solution was to put a hybrid player in that SAM position, someone beefy enough (and willing enough) to stick his nose into the run game, but fleet enough to pick up skill players in pass coverage. Thus the STAR was born.
A STAR back still lines up to the strength of the offense, but since offenses are so pass-happy in contemporary football, the strength isn’t simply where the TE lines up anymore. Rather, the strength of the offense is where passes are expected to be thrown the most, which might be where there’s two or three WRs lined up, maybe even opposite of the TE side. Tennessee tends to line up with the STAR to the field (the wide side) and the WILL to the boundary (or short side). Here’s the typical alignment for Tennessee’s defense, note that even though there’s a TE (actually two tight ends) lined up to the boundary, the weak-side LB lines up to the boundary too, while the STAR lines up to the field:
Always lining up to the field means the STAR has to cover a lot of ground while carrying responsibilities in the pass game and run game. As an example of the versatility the STAR needs, last year’s starter Tamarion McDonald had 3.5 TFL, a sack, and a QB hurry, but also had a pick and 4 pass break ups. McDonald also finished 5th on the team with 40 tackles despite missing the last 3 games due to injury.
Opportunity is Now Here
So now that Jourdan Thomas is out, and Boo Carter is presumably in, what does that mean for the 2024 outlook on this position? The secondary is already the biggest question mark for UT this upcoming season, and considering the particular the demands of the position, you can’t throw just anyone into the role. Other than inexperience, there’s no reason to think Boo Carter (5’11, 195 lbs., .9400 rating as a recruit) can’t fill the starting spot. One of the most exciting athletes in UT’s 2024 signing class, Carter had 71 tackles, 2 TFL and an interception his senior year at Bradley Central while playing a similar role pass-and-run-support role at free safety. Other candidates for the spot or for relief there:
Will Brooks (6’1, 206 lbs., former walk-on) Pressed into action when Jourdan Thomas (who seemingly cannot catch a break) got hurt early against Georgia in 2023, Brooks played well against UGA and started the following week against Vandy, finishing the season with 18 tackles, a TFL, and a PBU. Brooks could actually be the starter here if the coaching staff decides experience is more important than raw athletic ability.
Christian Harrison (6’1, 191 lbs., .8508) Mostly a special-trams contributor his first tow years in Knoxville, Harrison did get some late-game duty at corner in 2023 and recorded two tackles in the Citrus Bowl win against Iowa.
Jakobe Thomas (6’2, 200 lbs., .8539 rating as a transfer from MTSU) Played as a free safety for the Blue Raiders, finishing 2023 71 tackles, 3 TFL, 5 PBU, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a blocked kick, so it seems Thomas has a knack for the ball and the physicality needed to play the STAR.
The impact of Thomas’ injury isn’t so much in who the starter will be, as UT has likely felt more in the strain it puts on the depth of an already thin, unproven back seven for the Vols.
Consider, though, how far this roster has come since Josh Heupel took over in 2021. My favorite example of the uphill climb UT faced in Heupel’s first season was always that 5-star offensive tackle Cade Mays was backed up by walk-on Dane Davis. Now Davis has worked himself into being a serviceable, if not pretty good, SEC offensive lineman. But in 2021, he played like a walk-on. The good news is that now, a few recruiting cycles later, Tennessee is starting to have the kind of roster that can see a starter like Thomas go down, only to be replaced by a blue-chip kid. The bad news is that the depth chart can’t go a whole lot deeper though, and the amount of strain it can take is already being tested before the season even kicks off.