I like! I like!Fit
Carter can do it all. He is natural in pass coverage. He is a thumper in the middle of the defense. He has a natural football IQ that allows him to play with a relentless motor. His time at running back only makes him more of a natural linebacker. His nose for the football is evident. He will primarily serve as a mike backer for the Vols, but they can get creative in the way they use him. He moves naturally and will be a threat with delayed blitzes. He can run dual-threat quarterbacks down from his coverage assignments, and he is one of the best in the country from sideline to sideline.
Impact Rating: 10 of 10
Carter is a massive addition for the Vols. He makes an already good defensive class elite, in my opinion. Tennessee is now set to bring in immediate help at all three levels. Pairing Carter with Jalen Smith and Jeremiah Telander gives the Vols an immense amount of versatility at linebacker. Tennessee outlasted Alabama in this one, and Carter has a chance to be a day-one player in Knoxville. Getting him to campus later in the week for bowl practices is an even bigger jumpstart to his career.
Impact Report: Vols Land Dynamic LB Arion Carter
Carter grew so fond of Josh Heupel throughout the process and those two have gotten close.
“It means everything,” Carter said of his relationship with Heupel. “Without that relationship, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. Over the past couple of months, I’ve talked to him every day or at least every other day. We’ve been on the phone talking to each other. It just means a lot and shows you how much the school has interest in you. Having a head coach in your home and at your school, it really shows that they are invested in you.”
He now heads to Knoxville tomorrow as he will move in for a week or so to go through bowl practice. It’s a chance to start learning from Brian Jean Mary.