Tennessee listed linebacker Arion Carter as a game time decision on the week’s final injury report for the Vols’ matchup against Oklahoma on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols listed Carter as questionable on the injury report from Wednesday to Friday. Tennessee handled Carter’s status the same way last week at Kentucky, listing him as questionable all week and as a game time decision on Saturday.
Carter is dealing with a turf toe injury that is making his status uncertain. The junior linebacker did not end up playing against Kentucky last week.
Carter is Tennessee’s top linebacker, totaling 61 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in the Vols’ first seven games of the season. Despite missing all of last week’s game against Kentucky, Carter has still played 55 more snaps than any other Tennessee linebacker.
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If Carter is unable to play against Oklahoma or is limited in snaps due to the injury, Jeremiah Telander and especially Edwin Spillman will likely see an increase in snaps against the Sooners. Former walk-on Ben Bolton and true freshman Jadon Perlotte play more snaps against the Sooners.
Perlotte’s role significantly increased last week against Kentucky and he played well, especially in space. His role has slowly gone up over the course of the 2025 season.
Last week against Kentucky, Spillman led the inside linebacker group with 70 snaps followed by Jeremiah Telander (49 snaps), Perlotte (38 snaps) and Jaedon Harmon (11 snaps). Bolton missed the game with an injury but will return against Oklahoma.
Tennessee is 2.5-point favorites against Oklahoma according to the DKSportsbook. The over/under is set at 54.5. The matchup is effectively a College Football Playoff elimination game with both Tennessee and Oklahoma entering the matchup with two losses.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Oklahoma is at 7:30 ET Saturday night. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
