Elijah Herring gives his impressions of Arion Carter

Josh Heupel was able to bring in an impressive 2023 recruiting class and dividends are already beginning to play off. There are multiple freshmen that are gaining buzz in Knoxville, with linebacker Arion Carter being one of them. Carter has plenty of teammates already talking about him when doing media interviews, including Elijah Herring.

Herring gave his first impressions of Carter as a player, talking up the linebacker’s mental side. Carter has the ability to pick the game up really well and make sure it translates onto the practice field according to Yates. Not exactly something you always see from a true freshman, even if Carter was an early enrollee at Tennessee.

“He’s a very detailed, assignment sound player,” Herring said. “You can tell. He picks something up and put it on the field, just like that. He’s very intentional with everything he does. He’s very locked in. Comes in with the right mindset to go every day.”

Carter played high school football at Smyrna (TN) High School, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 125 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Carter is still early in his linebacker playing days, spending most of his high school career as a running back. Originally, Carter was committed to play for Memphis. But his recruitment ultimately took off once moving to the defensive side, earning offers from SEC programs in a flurry.

Ultimately, Tennessee wound up being the decision over Alabama. A huge win for Heupel not only for the in-state aspect but taking down the Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail was a huge moment. Especially a defensive prospect, an area Nick Saban is usually able to win head-to-head battles against rivals.

Now, Tennessee is waiting for the regular season to begin so Carter can get game action. Having a freshman linebacker contribute would be an immense step in the right direction. Those types of players help the long-term development of the program and thus far, Carter is projecting as one of them.

Who knows — maybe Carter and Herring will get some playing time together at different points of the season. At the very least, you would know Herring has confidence in the youngster when stepping onto the field. The praise coming out of fall camp is too glowing to ignore.