Beyond the Orange: Jourdan Thomas

A career ending injury has only strengthened the resolve of VFL Jourdan Thomas. He dives into his new role, purpose and passion in this week’s Beyond the Orange sponsored by Knoxville Smiles.

“Just the culture and leader we have in Josh Heupel,” Thomas said about his desire to pick Tennessee coming out of high school. “I trusted those guys with my life and since then it’s been proven true I made the right decision. I believed in his vision and the culture he is building here.”

His first year he played a lot of special teams, and then he was set to become Tennessee’s starting nickel before the 2024 season. He was running during Tennessee’s third preseason practice in 2024 during a play when his life changed. Thomas’ right foot caught in the turf and he felt something different causing catastrophic damage to his right leg.

“Physically it’s gone but sometimes I’m at practice and I start moving around,” Thomas said with a smile. “It’s not totally gone but when I knew it was gone was when I sat down with my doctor and surgeon and he didn’t want to tell me at first because he knew it would be a tough blow for me. For it to be taken away in a matter of seconds so he took some time to tell me. I wasn’t expecting that.”

So what exactly happened to Thomas? He 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. He grew in his faith.

“My faith and belief and trust in God is what got me out of bed every morning,” Thomas said. “Knowing that he still has a plan for me got me out of bed. My faith has deeply grown because I have to lean on him every day.”

Watch the full episode of Beyond the Orange below.