Vols will keep 'force-feeding' freshman linebacker Arion Carter as fall camp continues

Some days, it’s hard to tell Arion Carter, the 6-foot-1, 227-pound linebacker wearing No. 7 on the Tennessee football practice field, is a freshman. Other days, it’s obvious. Even if he already looks the part, there’s a learning curve for everyone.

“There’s never going to be perfection,” Tennessee linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said after Friday’s practice. “Youth always equals mistakes, and we just want to limit the amount.” 

Carter, the former four-star prospect out of Smyrna, Tenn., moved from running back to linebacker in high school and saw his recruitment take off. It’s the speed and athleticism that he brings to the position that hales him cover up some rookie mistakes with the Vols.

“The thing with Arion is that he plays so hard, fast and is a great athlete,” Jean-Mary said, “so he’s able to overcome some of those mistakes that maybe some other people can’t.”

Arion Carter was the No. 11 linebacker in the 2023 recruiting class

Carter was the No. 125 overall prospect in the 2023 class. He was ranked No. 11 among linebackers and the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Tennessee, choosing the Vols over Alabama and Ohio State.  

He enrolled early at Tennessee, going through bowl practices in December and spring practice earlier this year to get a jumpstart on his college career. Now in his first fall camp, he can see the benefits paying off.

“Confidence is really a big factor,” Carter said on Frida, “just knowing what to expect, knowing the game, understanding the game and knowing the speed of the game and seeing how it slowed down. 

“For me, it’s really been a big jump for me in that aspect. And just understanding the game.”

What Jean-Mary made clear is that Tennessee won’t use kid gloves on the freshman linebacker. 

“We are not going to spoon-feed him,” Jean-Mary said. “We are going to keep force-feeding him and putting him in difficult situations so he learns from them.”

How he has responded to those situations so far has told the coaching staff what they need to know.

“If he does it right, he can explain why he did it right,” Jean-Mary said. “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.” 

Another leg up for Carter is lining up everyday in practice across from one of the fastest, most productive offensive schemes in college football — with a veteran quarterback in fifth-year senior Joe Milton III, pulling the trigger.

“Just going against our offense,” Cater said, “especially how fast the tempo is and the wide receivers and just the schematics of everything. A lot of other moves, crossing routes, you gotta really have your eyes (ready) before wide receivers come across. (It’s) really knowing your coverage, you gotta be on point at all times. 

“And just being able to know that you have a quarterback like Joe that can sling it and fit it in those type windows. You gotta really be there and know receiver with our receivers, like Squirrel (White) who’s really fast and Dont’e (Thornton) who lines up sometimes on the slot, to have to cover him.  You have to be on your horse each and every day.”

Up Next: Tennessee vs. Virginia, September 2, Noon ET, ABC

Carter in fall camp is facing plenty of competition in a linebacker room that has spent the last two years adding depth, with veterans in Aaron Beasley and Keenan Pili, a pair of sophomores in Kalib Perry and Elijah Herring and fellow freshmen Jeremiah Telander and Jalen Smith.

Carter knows those benefits, too.

“Competition’s always been good,” he said, “with each and every guy bringing their best every day. It brings out the best out of you each and every day, for you to go out and show what you can do it and learn off somebody’s mistakes. Just capitalize off each and every rep.”

Jean-Mary said Carter is “a little further ahead” now than he was in the spring and they’ll continue to push him as the season gets closer.

“Obviously, we are expecting big things from him the rest of this camp,” Jean-Mary said.

Carter expects big things from himself, more than anything.

Is he ready to contribute as a freshman? 

“I can control what I can control right now,” Carter said. “Just going out every day and showing the coaches that I know my assignment and my alignment and that I’m gonna play to the standard. At the end of the day, (playing time is) up to them, but it’s up to me to show that I can play at that level and for them to trust me that I play at that level. 

“But the goal, for me coming in, is always to be able to come in and contribute if not start. So from this point forward, it’s just me being able to show that I can.”