Despite growing up a fan of the Tennessee Vols, safety Jakobe Thomas spent just one season on Rocky Top.

Thomas, who started his college career at Middle Tennessee State, entered the transfer portal following the 2024 season. He landed with the Miami Hurricanes, where he played a key role in the team’s run to the national championship game this past season (Thomas was the MVP of the Fiesta Bowl).

The former Vol spoke at the NFL scouting combine this week on his decision to leave Tennessee after just one season.

“I just had to do what’s best for me,” said Thomas. “It obviously wasn’t an easy decision. I love that place with everything in me. I grew up a Tennessee kid, so I always dreamed of wearing the orange and white. But I just had to do what was best for me, and put myself [in position] to be here (at the combine preparing for the NFL Draft).”

“I’ll tell you, when I got to Tennessee when I was about seven, all you see is Vols everywhere,” added Thomas. “And that’s all you see is that checkerboard. That was one that when it happened, I had to go. And I’m so blessed. I’m so thankful that I get the chance to tell my kids that I played in Neyland Stadium. That was an end goal for me.”

Jakobe Thomas previously spoke on his decision to leave Tennessee

Thomas previously spoke on his decision to leave Tennessee while at Miami this past season.

“For me, my mom, she wasn’t a Tennessee fan…but I grew up a Tennessee guy,” said Thomas last November on Storm Sessions. “I moved to Tennessee when I was five or six. It kind of just was one of those things that was inherited there. It’s great, dude. I love that place, and that place will always hold dearly to my heart. But playing in the SEC, I think that’s every kid’s dream. Well, it was — because now NIL has changed everything. But that was a milestone moment in my life where I just had to do it.”

Thomas then detailed the tough time he went through before deciding to leave Tennessee.

“Honestly, I was mentally struggling really bad,” said Thomas. “I just remember I called my mom one night and just talking to her about, like, I didn’t know if I wanted to play football anymore. I didn’t know what the next page held. I just don’t think it’s for me anymore. And my mom got up at 10 PM at night, drove four hours, knocked on my front door at 2:00 in the morning. [She] walked me outside, and we walked around the neighborhood, and we just talked.

“And when I got back to the house, she hugged me, and she said, ‘This is what you’ve done your entire life. Don’t let one moment ruin everything that you built. But I want you to be happy.’ And when she told me that, it was just like, I gotta bet on me. So I ended up transferring here (to Miami). And I haven’t looked back. But at the same time, that was a harder moment for me — because I love that place (Tennessee). That place was a dream come true for me. But everybody’s story is different, and I think I needed a different opportunity somewhere else, and this opportunity is working out for me well. But that was a hard decision. That was a tough one.”

Thomas notably played nearly 300 fewer snaps than former walk-on Vols safety Will Brooks in 2024. Thomas also played almost 300 fewer snaps than Andre Turrentine, and he played just 23 more snaps than Christian Charles (Charles transferred to Virginia after the 2024 season).

It’s not completely clear why Thomas chose to leave Tennessee for Miami, but his usage with the Vols certainly could’ve been a factor.