Tennessee knew they had an issue to overcome in the defensive backfield during preseason camp when Jourdan Thomas went down with a knee injury that ended his season before it ever began.
Thomas was slated to be the starter at the Vols’ hybrid safety/linebacker position, Star, but went down with the injury early in fall practice, which wasn’t ideal, but did allow the Vols more time to prepared his replacement, which has been either sophomore Christian Harrison or freshman Boo Carter.
Tennessee defensive back coach Willie Martinez knew that there would be some growing pains. He also knew that one player likely couldn’t carry the load so the Vols have continued to play Harrison and Carter throughout the season.
“You know their strengths and (you’re) building off and improving on their weaknesses,” Martinez said. “That’s really the weaknesses, is that neither one of them played the position here. One was here playing corner in Christian Harrison. The other is a freshman that came in here for ten months and is learning how everything is done.
“They have strengths and they’ve proven it in the games and continually growing and getting better and better…So they’re gaining the confidence.”
The Vols seemed to have a lock-down secondary before the Arkansas game. The Razorbacks threw for 297 yards with two quarterbacks and an offense that had been less than spectacular earlier this season.
“We weren’t the smartest on certain plays,” Martinez said. “We weren’t as physical as we needed to be. We missed a tackle when we shouldn’t have missed a tackle that created a momentum change. We missed an assignment…Offenses are going to make plays. We want to be in tight coverage, just got to play smarter. We’ve got to play harder and longer.”
That starts with facing Florida at home this week. The Gators are about a two-touchdown underdog against the Vols, but could be tougher to defend that most considering they utilize two quarterbacks, Graham Mertz and D.J. Lagway, throughout the game. Both are athletic and could run the ball at anytime.
That will put pressure on the Vols’ Star position. Partially led by Carter, this might be a good week to lay off the pre-game social media chirping that he displayed before he Arkansas loss. Carter is thought to be the more athletic of the two options at Star, but he still hasn’t grown into the consistent player that Tennessee is looking for at that key position.
