Miami’s pass rush closed in and Julian Sayin’s pass sailed over the middle and into the arms of former Tennessee safety Jakobe Thomas as the Hurricanes put the final touches on their 24-14 upset win over Ohio State Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes’ playoff win was all the more sweet for Thomas after Ohio State ended his junior season a year ago with a 42-17 rout of Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. Following the game, Thomas took to his Instagram story to shout out his former team.
Thomas posted a picture of him playing against Ohio State last year with the caption “Shoutout my orange fam” and the son “Get Back” by YTB Fatt playing.
Jakobe Thomas on his Instagram story after Miami’s win over Ohio State: https://t.co/mimEVpk1dh pic.twitter.com/w6zCme6D9b
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While the post was a cool gesture from Thomas to Tennessee, his performance against the Buckeyes —a team-high seven tackles to go along with the interception— was painful for the Vols to watch.
Tennessee let Thomas walk instead of meeting his asking price. Given Thomas’ success at Miami and Tennessee’s struggles at safety, it’s clear that the Vols made the wrong decision.
Thomas earned All-American honors from On3 this season for totaling 64 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and four interceptions while helping lead the Hurricanes to a 12-2 record and a birth in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
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The senior safety forced turnovers in wins over South Florida, Florida State, Syracuse, North Carolina State and Ohio 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.
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 86.0 PFF grade this 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 68.0 grade, Beasley earned a 62.3 grade and Turrentine earned a 59.6 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.
