Atop the list of Tennessee football’s defensive struggles in 2025 was its safety play. That made it all the more noteworthy when Jakobe Thomas had a standout senior season after transferring to Miami. On3 gave validation to Thomas’ standout season by tabbing him a Second Team All-American on Wednesday.
Thomas totaled 48 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and four interceptions while helping lead the Hurricanes to a 10-2 record and a birth in the College Football Playoffs. The senior safety forced turnovers in wins over South Florida, Florida State, Syracuse and North Carolina State. He also recovered a fumble against Notre Dame.
A Tullahoma native, Thomas began his career at MTSU before transferring to Tennessee ahead of the 2024 season. He didn’t start in his lone season at Tennessee but was the Vols’ third safety, playing 263 snaps at a relatively high level.
Thomas totaled 22 tackles, two pass breakups and one sack during the 2024 season at Tennessee and was in line to start at safety for the Vols in 2025. He went through spring practice at Tennessee before entering the transfer portal reportedly seeking greater NIL compensation elsewhere.
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Tennessee let Thomas walk instead of meeting his asking price. It’s hard to say how unwise or wise a decision that is without knowing exactly what it was. But given Thomas’ success at Miami and Tennessee’s struggles at safety, it’s hard to think the Vols made the right decision.
Andre Turrentine and Edrees Farooq started at safety while Kaleb Beasley earned snaps as a backup. Farooq showed some flashes to close the year but the group was otherwise dreadful for much of the 2025 season. Thomas earned an 85.0 PFF grade last season at Miami. That would have been the second highest mark on Tennessee’s defense behind Josh Josephs.
But the blow stings worse when compared to Tennessee’s other safeties. Farooq earned a 68.7 grade, Beasley earned a 66.5 grade and Turrentine earned a 58.5 grade.
Turrentine is out of eligibility after this season but it’s unclear what Farooq and Beasley’s role will be at Tennessee next season. Farooq played well enough down the stretch for Tennessee to be optimistic about his growth. But either way, the Vols will likely be aggressive at safety in the transfer portal.
