Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter had high expectations for a freshman player coming out of training camp. The former blue-chip recruit from the class of 2023 was a key commit for Josh Heupel’s defensive roster and quickly impressed after enrolling early last December.
With the raw talent that Carter was able to bring to the table, Tennessee’s coaching staff was determined to get him to a place where they felt confident putting him in the game.
“We are not going to spoon-feed him,” Vols linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said of Carter in early August. “We are going to keep force-feeding him and putting him in difficult situations so he learns from them and if he does it right, he can explain why he did it right. We feel confident that if he does it wrong, we are going to be able to correct it and make sure he does it right the next time.”
Carter’s work effort during training camp earned him the backup spot to Aaron Beasley’s linebacker position on the Vols’ initial depth chart. Carter’s workload would then continue to be tested with an increased role after veteran transfer linebacker Keenan Pili went down with an injury after the first week of the season.
After playing in all five games this season, Carter has the eighth most tackles on the team at 13. The Smyrna, Tennessee native has six assisted tackles and seven solo tackles to go along with one pass breakup and one tackle for loss.
While Carter is still working as the backup to Aaron Beasley, the experience that the young linebacker has gathered early in the season has been valuable to his own growth and development.
“The game feels really good to me right now,” Carter said on Wednesday. “It has slowed down a lot. Along with getting more reps as a young guy coming in, I am seeing the game open up and it has slowed down tremendously for me.”
Several factors have gone into Carter’s growth on the field this season which culminated in a really well-played game against the Gamecocks last Saturday night in Knoxville. Carter credits the coaching staff and his desire to put the work in outside of normal practice hours.
“Really, preparation,” Carter said about what went into his South Carolina performance. “Coach BJ (Brian-Jean Mary) talks about it all the time, especially being a young guy, being athletic, and being able to see the field and know formations to see what plays are going to develop from what formations, being in the film room. I’ve been in the film room a lot more lately, (during) a lot of my free time when I am not doing schoolwork. I feel like that has helped me tremendously. That way, when I get there I’m not thinking, I am just reacting.”
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Carter has also benefited from having freshman linebacker Jeremiah Telander as a close friend and roommate as the two embark on their collegiate careers.
Both have benefited from that, in reality.
Telander, a former three-star recruit in the 2023 class from Gainesville, Georgia, has also been impressive throughout training camp and the first five weeks of the season. Telander has also played in all of the Vols’ first five games and has a total of 11 tackles under his belt – four solo, seven assisted.
Jeremiah Telander and Arion Carter eat, sleep, and breathe football when they are together.
“No sir, I’m not,” Carter said about if he was surprised to see Telander’s early success on the field this season. “I’m his roommate so we do film study together. So just knowing what he knows, us playing off of each other, it’s not hard for me to know that the work he puts in is showing. I’m so thankful for that and I’m happy for him. I just want to see him continue to grow along with everyone else.”
Tennessee will continue to rest and recover during the open date this weekend before hosting Texas A&M in Neyland Stadium on October 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
