The Tennessee Vols suffered a tough blow this weekend, reportedly losing junior safety Jourdan Thomas to a knee injury that will cost him the entire season. 

VolQuest's Austin Price broke the news of Thomas' season-ending injury on Sunday morning. 

Thomas was likely going to be a starting safety (star/nickel) for the Vols this fall after seeing his role increase during the second half of the 2023 season. 

The former three-star recruit made his first career start at the STAR position last season against the Georgia Bulldogs. He also saw significant snaps in a late season game against the Missouri Tigers and in the Vols' win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl. 

While losing Thomas is obviously a tough break for the Vols (not only do they lose a potential starter, but the safety depth will now be tested, too), the program is fortunate to have some quality replacements — thanks to an increased effort from the coaching staff to build depth at the STAR position — including redshirt sophomore Christian Harrison, redshirt junior Christian Charles, and true freshman Boo Carter. 

"We really worked hard between Jourdan Thomas and Christian Harrison and Boo Carter, but if I am being honest we have worked everybody at that position (STAR) because it is super important," said Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks before the start of fall camp. "We lost two within the span of a week a year ago and we don't ever want to be in that situation again. Those three guys I mentioned are very versatile in our defense. They are good athletes. They are tough guys. They also have some cover ability. It is probably one of the more challenging positions on our defense and I am super excited about the three guys I just mentioned."

While Harrison and Charles are candidates to play more snaps with Thomas sidelined, it's Carter that's the most exciting option of that group. 

Carter is a former four-star recruit who is extremely competitive and treats every rep like the game is on the line. There's obviously a learning curve since he's a true freshman, but he has the talent to be one of the best defenders in the nation (which is why Deion Sanders wanted him so badly at Colorado). 

Banks was noticeably excited when talking about Carter before the start of fall camp, though he noted that the true freshman still needs to mature in a few areas. 

"Boo is great energy all the time," said Banks. "He is a guy that is always 100 miles per hour. I think as he continues to grow in our program, he will continue to get a little bit more mature. We definitely like what he brings from a football perspective. He is a kid that works hard and wants to do well. He has shown some maturity, but I think you will see more once he gets his feet wet a little bit."

Banks isn't the only Tennessee assistant who has gushed over Carter. Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez and outside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler both raved about Carter during spring practice. 

"Boo is explosive," said Martinez in early April. "Boo, you put him in any kind of drill and he’s going to show up. He’s so athletic. He’s quick. He’s got great instincts."

“The challenge is to learn everything for Boo," added Martinez. "Boo is explosive. Boo, you put him in any kind of drill and he’s going to show up. He’s so athletic. He’s quick. He’s got great instincts. It’s just the part of putting it all together in the package. Learning it and being consistent. Again, he has really done a nice job the last couple of practices. It’s really kind of slowed down for him. You can see it.

“Obviously when he plays the STAR position, he is getting us lined up better than he did in the first couple of practices. And he understands now how the tempo is. He hasn’t really panicked, but he’s a very competitive player, [he] wants to win on every play. That’s what you love about it. It’s just trying to slow the process down for him as far as where it’s not happening too fast for him. It was early, but I think he’s doing a really nice job the last couple of practices.”

Ekeler echoed many of those sentiments a couple of weeks later. 

"I’ve been other places and in this conference, too, where we had a true freshman back there and he was an All-American," said Ekeler. "So I don’t bat an eye and if they’re ready, they’re ready. And Boo Carter, I’m not saying he’s the guy, but he’s in that competition (punt returner). And Boo Carter, he don’t care if he’s in front of 102,000, he don’t care if he’s in front of five people, he’s Boo and he’s so locked in and focused on what he does. He’s just a great football player. Regardless if he’s our returner this year, he can play a ton of ball around here. Absolutely love that guy. He’s just a great football player."

Programs never like to count on true freshmen because they can't be certain of what they're getting until they play in a game that matters. 

But Carter seems to be the rare true freshman that's ready to be an instant contributor. And Thomas' injury could force Tennessee to make him a bigger part of the defense sooner than we expected. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Carter play significant snaps in Week One when the Vols open the season against Chattanooga. 

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