For the second time this season, Tennessee football was without its star linebacker Arion Carter last week against New Mexico State. The junior, who is second on the team in tackles, missed the previous game against Kentucky before returning in limited fashion vs. Oklahoma. Against New Mexico State last Saturday, he watched from the sideline.
In the initial availability report before playing at Florida, Carter is now not listed on the report. This indicates that he will be available to play.
Carter has started in each of Tennessee’s games this year prior to injury as the weak-side linebacker opposite of Telander. On the season, Carter has produced 63 tackles, good for second on the team behind Edwin Spillman. He’s also notched one pass deflected, one sack and forced a fumble.
In his most recent outing, the loss to Oklahoma, Carter played just 17 snaps off the bench. He recorded two tackles, one of which being a solo effort. This earned him a PFF grade of 59.5. His tackling was graded at a strong 76.3, though, the seventh-best on the team.
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Without Carter in past weeks, Spillman stepped up to replace him in the starting unit again. William Inge’s room also deployed freshman Jadon Perlotte, who has earned increased playing time in the past handful of SEC games.
Other options were freshman Jaedon Harmon, second-year Jordan Burns and veteran Ben Bolton, who have seen varying degrees of playing time this year.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Florida is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in The Swamp. The game will air on ABC. If UT is able to pull off the road win, it’d be the first in Gainesville since 2003. Carter is 0-1 on the road against the Gators, losing as a freshman in 2023.
