Jakobe Thomas, the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, makes strong statement about Tennessee while detailing decision to leave the Vols
Jakobe Thomas spent the 2024 season with the Tennessee Vols before joining the Miami Hurricanes this past offseason.
Former Tennessee Vols defensive back Jakobe Thomas picked up a massive honor on Thursday night.
Thomas, who joined the Miami Hurricanes last offseason after spending one year at Tennessee, was named the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl.
Miami beat the Ole Miss Rebels, 31-27, on Thursday night to advance to the national championship.
Thomas finished the game with a team-high five tackles.
Jakobe Thomas speaks on his decision to leave Tennessee
Thomas has been an extremely important player for Miami this season. The former Vol, who brings high energy every time he steps onto the field, is second on Miami in tackles (70) and interceptions (5).
Considering Tennessee’s secondary issues in 2025, plenty of Vols fans have questioned how UT let Thomas get away, especially since Thomas grew up a Tennessee fan.
Thomas spoke about the “hard” decision to leave Tennessee in November during a sit-down interview on Storm Sessions.
“For me, my mom, she wasn’t a Tennessee fan…but I grew up a Tennessee guy,” said Thomas. “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 didn’t go into great detail about the catalyst for his decision to leave Tennessee. But it’s worth noting that he 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).
I don’t want to say that Tennessee “misused” Thomas because I don’t know the coaching staff’s behind-the-scenes reasoning for limiting his snaps.
But I think it’s obvious from the way Thomas has performed for Miami this season that Tennessee should’ve been playing him more.
Things worked out well for Thomas — he’s a key reason why the Hurricanes will be playing for a national championship later this month — but it’s clear that leaving Tennessee wasn’t an easy decision for him.