Jourdan Thomas was running to the football during Tennessee’s third preseason practice in 2024 when his life changed. Thomas’ right foot caught in the grass at the Haslam Practice Field, causing catastrophic damage to his right leg.
A Tennessee spokesperson confirmed the next day that Thomas had torn his ACL and would miss the entire 2024 season. But the damage was far greater. Thomas tore his ACL, LCL and PCL in his knee. He tore his hamstring tendon off the bone and the peroneal nerve in his leg — leading to a condition that likely ended his football career ahead of what was poised to be a breakout season.
Surgeries and rehabs followed. So did “unexplainable hurt” and trust in God’s plan on a new football journey.
“My story has been one of resilience and faith in God,” Thomas told RTI. “It’s all about how you respond to adversity.”
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Thomas’ relationship with Jesus Christ grew greatly in the year prior to suffering the injury. He grew up in the church and was a “lukewarm” Christian trying to be “morally upright” his freshman year.
That changed his sophomore year. He became “all-in” with his faith and became part of the Team 2:5 student leadership group at 1Tenn Ministries. Thomas was “in a good spiritual state” when the injury occurred. He didn’t need a wake-up call, yet he had longed for a deeper, closer relationship with God.
“The day before my injury, I had those types of prayers,” Thomas said. “Like, I was crying, man. I was in my room. I was on my knees, man. I was crying. I was asking God to make me a strong man of faith, endurance, strength, resilience. I asked for all that stuff … I got hurt the next day.”
Those qualities were tested and developed more than Thomas ever could have imagined. He had his first of two surgeries a few days after suffering the injury. After rehabbing for multiple months, he had the second surgery.
Thomas rehabbed with vigilance trying to get back on the field. His knee got healthier as he recovered from the more traditional injuries. But the tear of his peroneal nerve paralyzed his dorsiflexor, causing drop foot. From the moment the injury occurred, Thomas was unable to lift his right foot.
“I got back. Got my legs stronger, got my quad stronger, calf muscles stronger and all that,” Thomas said. “But I was still dealing with the drop foot.”
With drop foot, Thomas can’t play football. He wears an AFO brace to keep his foot from slouching and to keep his gait steady. Nerves can slowly heal over time. Thomas has talked to people with drop foot whose condition has improved, but it is rarely a swift change.
“It’s devastating because Jourdan was in a position to where he was going to be one of our guys,” Tennessee FCA Chaplain Chris Walker told RTI. “He was going to be one of our players in the secondary and he had worked his butt off. … It’s hard to deal with it (no longer playing) when you see it coming. It’s even harder to deal with it when you don’t see it coming, obviously, and I think that was what it was for him.”
Like most college football players, Thomas’ goal was to play in the NFL. That is what drove him. His work ethic and habits reflected that goal. Being a football player and working to get to the next level had always been a massive part of Thomas’ life. And in one step, it was gone.
“When that was out the window, when I knew I wasn’t going anymore, I was like, so what’s going to drive me now?” Thomas said. “What’s going to keep me going, keep me in the building?
Football was a key part of Thomas’ life, but it was not his entire life. It was not his identity. That’s where his spiritual growth in the year prior proved so significant.
“I think his faith is what helped him get out of bed every day.” said 1Tenn Chaplain Jessica Brewster, who Thomas describes as his ‘spiritual mother.’ “Having faith in the Lord, it doesn’t mean that days aren’t hard or that you don’t question things or that you don’t struggle. But it’s like his faith is what told him that something good has to come out of it. Something good has to happen in the end.”
“It’s the only thing for him,” Walker said. “I think that had he been somebody that didn’t have his essence, who he is grounded in something, it would have been very hard.”
The last 14 months have been extremely trying for Thomas. He has not ruled out a return to football if his nerves heal and he no longer deals with drop foot. But he knows that is unlikely to happen, at least in the immediate future.
Thomas is leaning on his trust in God, knowing that despite the pain he’s endured, the Lord has a plan for him.
“I came across a quote. It was like, I asked God for strength and He gave me struggles. I prayed for patience and He gave me difficulties to endure,” Thomas said. “I know that even in this trial and this test, man, His strength is going to be seen in me. And I know He’s going to make it for my good. It’s going to be a story that can impact others. And so that’s why I keep going.”
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Thomas was uncertain when Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks approached him in the summer about becoming a student assistant coach. For one, he wanted to make sure it was “God’s will” for his life. He didn’t want to make any “rash or hasty” decisions.
The Montgomery native had conversations with Walker about the opportunity and whether it was what God wanted him to do.
“Is this what God wants me to do?” Walker remembers Thomas asking. “I’m like, I don’t know. I said, if the Lord has opened the door right now and you got an opportunity and the coaches want you around and they want you in the meetings … you’ve got to think somewhat, like, maybe this is something that the Lord may have for me, right?”
Feeling like God was opening a door was part of why Thomas took the opportunity. The way coaches, including Tennessee’s, had affected his life was another consequential factor.
“Thankfully, my coaches love me,” Thomas said. “This program loves me. They embrace me. … And I’m trying to do right by that and be a great example every day. But they chose to honor my scholarship and keep me around because they want me in the building. They want me around the guys.”
“That just speaks so much volume,” Jourdan’s mother Jo Thomas said. “Just speaks about the love (they have for him). They (Tennessee’s coaches) care and they want him around.”
Thomas is a naturally quiet person, which typically does not make for a seamless transition into coaching. But his leadership role with Team 2:5 had begun preparing him for this opportunity even before he sustained the injury.
When Thomas started in the role, he was a watcher and not a speaker. Brewster described the younger Thomas as “meek”. But that meant his words carried weight with his teammates and fellow student-athletes.
Thomas is now much more prone to leading with his voice, whether that’s calling for vulnerability in 1Tenn leadership meetings or coaching his former teammates.
“I think that he has transitioned into this place where he walks in power and authority because he knows who he is in the Lord. And that power and authority comes from Him,” Brewster said. “He’s just matured so much more. He understands and knows that his voice matters, that God wants to use his voice.”
Even after deciding to become a student coach, Thomas was uncertain that coaching was the path he would pursue. He’s still not positive but is more convinced now than when he started.
“It seems like every day I’m becoming more convinced that I could really have a huge impact in this profession on-and-off the field,” Thomas said. “And it’ll be a great ministry opportunity for me.
“Being on the team and seeing guys every day, being able to disciple them, go through life with them. I still have a passion, a deep passion for ball, man. That ain’t going nowhere. So being able to do both, balance it out, I think it’d be nice for me. So I’m definitely still leaning towards it.”
Thomas believes God has given him talents that he could use to honor Him in any career he chooses. But coaching allows him to stay close to the game that he had dedicated so much of his life towards before that life-altering August morning.
“Jourdan can do whatever he wants to,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “He can go be an elite preacher, impact people that way. It can be in the business world. He’s going to find a tremendous amount of success. I think it’s cool that he sees something in coaching, about impacting other people, and a passion that he still has.”
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It was three days after Tennessee’s 44-41 overtime loss against Georgia and Thomas woke up angry. Angry that he was unable to make plays that would have impacted the game in a nail-biting loss. 410 days after severely injuring his right leg, he’s angry that his football career is likely over.
Thomas sometimes feels like Job, the Old Testament prophet who had numerous tragedies befall him despite remaining devoted to God.
“I feel like I’m going through a season like that,” Thomas said. “I question God sometimes. I’m not going to even lie. I mean, sometimes I complain, question, but he always ends up bringing my perspective back to what is really going on. I know that this isn’t forever, but he’s just trying to build something in me.”
Feeling deep pain after losing football is normal. Progress recovering from that is not easy, nor is it linear — even when embracing that God has something different planned.
Thomas has learned that in the last 14 months. Learned that it is okay to be upset, and that he can voice his complaints.
“The difference is he’s honest about where he is now,” Brewster said. “I think he realizes that he can be honest about frustrations with the injury, frustrations with God without believing that is dishonoring to the Lord.
“He realized, hey, it’s okay for me not to be okay. But I need to be intentional and go through the process and then take whatever I’m feeling to the Lord, because my feelings and emotions are real, but they’re not always true.”
Throughout his trials, Job bemoans his misfortune to God. But he never turns from the Lord, and God honors him because his complaints were spoken to him. In the end, God not only restores Job’s fortunes but doubles them. The story serves as both guidance and inspiration for Thomas.
Fourteen months after the injury, there are still days when Thomas wakes up angry. But those days are not as common as they once were. When they do come up, he’s better equipped to handle them.
“If anybody asked me, like, how is JT doing?” Brewster said. “I would say he’s struggling well.”
“It’s becoming more few and far between (with) the peaks of emotion and frustration and all that kind of stuff,” Walker said. “I think he’s gotten to a point where he’s starting to accept that the Lord’s got something different for him. And maybe it can be on a different side.”
Something different might be wearing a headset instead of a helmet. But Thomas is sure that there is more out there for him. He is also sure that Tennessee was the right spot for him to be.
“I’m glad He put me around these people,” Thomas said. “If He knew this was going to happen in my life, I’m glad He placed me here in Tennessee because these people, they really love me and they embrace me and they with me. They got me and God got me too.”
Thomas won’t be in the secondary when Tennessee tangles with the Crimson Tide in his home state on Saturday night. But he’s still a valued part of the Vol football program.
“He cares about his teammates more than he cares about himself,” Heupel said. “Really proud of who he is, how he goes about his business, and how he’s helped this football team.”
One Response
Great article, Ryan! Well done!