There are very few freshmen that look like Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter. Listed at 6-foot-1, 227-pounds, Carter jumps out when watching the Vols practice.
But the media only gets to watch drill portions of practice. Inside linebacker’s coach Brian Jean-Mary has been hard on Carter for mistakes in the limited amount of competition we’ve watched from the linebackers. So it’s hard to estimate what Carter’s impact will look like this fall.
However, we got a slight peak behind the curtain Wednesday when transfer tight end McCallan Castles began discussing Tennessee defenders who have stood out to him during the first week and change of fall practice.
“Oh, man. I have to shoutout Arion Carter,” Castles quickly answered. “That dude fills holes fast and he’s going to lace you in the hole. I’ve never seen a dude come in so ready to play— from a young guys standpoint.”
Carter is one of Josh Heupel and his staff’s biggest recruiting wins in their two-plus years in Knoxville. The Vols beat out Alabama for the 2022 Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year. The Smyrna native ranked as the No. 129 prep player in the country and the second best prep prospect in the state of Tennessee according to the 247sports composite rankings.
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While Carter is unlikely to start over senior Aaron Beasley and super senior transfer Keenan Pili at the season’s offset, he has a chance to be in the Vols’ two-deep which would give him plenty of immediate playing time.
After complimenting the freshman linebacker, Castles went on to compliment the veteran Tennessee defenders.
“Aaron Beasley and Keenan Pili,” Castles said of other Vol defenders who have impressed him. “That’s as veteran as you can get at linebacker. They don’t do anything wrong. They’re always there to make plays. Super solid. Tank— Jaylen McCollough— is so solid. Special teams, everything he does is super sound technique and he’s always high energy ready to coach everybody up.”
Castles is entering his final season of college football after playing his first five seasons at UC Davis. The 6-foot-5, 233-pound tight end combined to catch 57 passes for 734 yards and six touchdowns over his last two seasons at UC Davis.
Along with freshman Ethan Davis, Castles will provide depth behind Jacob Warren at tight end for the Vols in 2023.
There are plenty of adjustments for Castles making the move from UC Davis to Tennessee, but the veteran tight end definitely didn’t see freshman linebackers like Carter in the Big Sky Conference. He might not have seen linebackers like the Vols’ talented freshman at all in the Big Sky.
