Perhaps no player received more hype than Boo Carter among Tennessee’s 2024 signees. With the season looming, he seems to have lived up to all the talk.
That’s especially good for the Vols considering they lost Jourdan Thomas to a season-ending leg injury in preseason camp. The junior was slated to start at the Vols’ hybrid linebacker/defensive back position, Star, but now that position is up for grabs. The two players most in contention to start and take up the snaps left by Thomas are Carter and sophomore Christian Harrison.
Let’s start with Carter, who seems to have the inside track on the first-team spot thanks to his elite athleticism.
“I’m excited about Boo, just like a lot of our freshmen,” Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks said on Friday. “Obviously with the situation we’re in, his learning curve had to speed up a little bit. So he’s coming along. I think at the end of the day, just like most freshmen, still some things that he can continue to improve on. But he’s been working his tail off and he’s doing everything he can to get ready. So we’re excited about him. We think he’s going to have a really good year for us.”
So what does that mean for Harrison?
“Christian’s been very consistent this fall camp,” Banks said. “I thought he made some strides in the spring, but I thought he really picked it up in the fall. He’s another guy…that really worked his tail off to put himself in a position to be able to have a bigger role on his team.
“I think if he continues to do what he’s doing, I think he’ll be fine. But I just think the overall consistency in which he’s playing, we know exactly what we’re going to get out of him and I’m sure that’ll show up in the games as well.”
The debate over the two players seems pretty simple. Carter can provide more playmaking ability even if he’s not as familiar with the Vols’ defense as Harrison, who can be depended upon, but likely not spectacular. Do the Vols want play it conservative or aggressive at the Star position? With the season-opening game upcoming against Chattanooga on Aug. 31, the Vols surely have a strong idea who they’ll lean on at one of their most difficult and important positions on defense.
The Vols certainly had more to accomplish during preseason camp than just finding a Star. The Vols lost over 10 defensive backs and all their starters from last year’s secondary.
Tennessee is expected to start sophomore Rickey Gibson III and sophomore transfer Jermod McCoy at cornerback. Safety is still a work in progress with junior Andrew Turrentine, senior Will Brooks, sophomore John Slaughter and junior Jalen McMurray all receiving rave reviews during preseason practice.
In some ways, Tennessee has depth, albeit not very experienced depth. Banks seemed to feel comfortable with his backup cornerbacks: redshirt freshman Jourdan Matthews and junior transfer Jalen McMurray.
“I think Jalen and Jordan both have been outstanding in camp,” Banks said. “We are always trying to get better, obviously, but we think those guys have given us enough validation in what they’re doing in practice that they’ll be able to help us on the back end.
“But again for us, we want to stay healthy. When we’ve been healthy on the back end, we’ve been really good there. We think because we can play more guys, it’ll allow us guys to stay healthier coming down the back stretch.”
