Ahead of his senior year with Tennessee football, linebacker Arion Carter is garnering national attention. This week, Carter was named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list.
The award is given out annually to a defensive player across college football for their personal character and athletic abilities. The ‘IMPACT’ stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Tennessee has never had a player win the Lott IMPACT Trophy. It has been handed out since 2004, and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs won it a year ago.
Watch List Season 👀@ArionCarter has been named to the @TheLottTrophy Watch List.#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/O18qDRmN6u
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) June 2, 2026
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Carter is projected to be good to go for the start of the 2026 season, but he missed all of spring camp as he rehabbed from injury. His position coach, William Inge, detailed the impact he still made despite not being able to participate on the field.
“Well, the one thing about Arion is he does a great job with his level of preparation,” Inge said. “So, you may not see him, quote-unquote, there, but he is there. Whether he’s there on the sidelines or he’s working with me individually prior to practice in the mornings or later in the evenings, he’s definitely getting what we call your intensity through repetition.
“The one great thing about Arion being a veteran player is repetitions may not be some of the things that he has to have all the time because he’s got a lot of what you call ‘sweat equity’ already built up from him playing as much as he has in the program. So, he’s been doing exactly what we want him to do thus far as we begin or as we continue to progress in the spring.”
Carter has been with the Volunteers for the past three seasons and led Tennessee in tackling in 2024. The Smyrna, Tennessee, native missed some time in 2025 while battling turf toe but still played in 10 games for Tennessee. He racked up 76 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two passes defended, and one forced fumble during the Vols’ 2025 campaign.
