Everything Arion Carter Said in His Media Availability Before the Georgia Tech Game

Arion Carter spoke to the media on Monday. He had a lot to say and he displayed why he is such a great leader for the Tennessee Vols. Read the highlights below:

On His Idea for the $427 donation Every Tackle

“Yeah. Um, obviously, um, due to my circumstances, you can't really change the circumstances that you're put in. Um, especially with this one. So, I try to turn a negative into a positive, per se, and put a smile on people's faces and it also goes back even to my mom. She has always wanted to raise a um foundation or a nonprofit foundation um for women and little girls and with being my girlfriend going through what she's went through in these last couple of months, um and me seeing it firsthand, it just really touched my heart and it really made me um have a different perspective and want to be able to raise awareness and set up a foundation for cancer research and be able to do this. So, uh that's that was the origin of that.”

On His Reaction to Getting Suspended

“Well, um my initial reaction was um was honestly uh me feeling down. I can't lie. um when you take uh the sport that a person and a kid loves so much away from them in a sense of uh the game itself. Um when us as student athletes work so hard in the offseason um and build so much camaraderie and chemistry uh with one another and working and putting in blood, sweat, and tears in the offseason to reap the benefits of the season and you get u one opportunity or two um one in my situation taken away. Um it kind of put um kind of hurt a little bit, but I had to look at it from a different perspective. And I had to understand that, you know, God puts you through certain situations to see what you can do and see how you um react to these certain situations to see how tough you really are at the end of it. And that's what I've noticed about myself. Um and I understand that, you know, even though that this was a small bump in the road, you know, this isn't the end of my journey. You know, it's just another uh part of my testimony.”

On What He Hopes His Donation Will Do

“You know, we always want to be able to like I said, this whole thing was just a jump start. You know, I'm just the start of this. You know, I'm not the end all be all in this in this whole thing. So, I feel like if I can get any of anybody, whether that be my teammates, whether that be people who donate to the school or people who just share this same testimony with me and my girlfriend with, you know, cancer research in general that just feels like they want to lend out a helping hand and help, they can do so. But I know for me, you know, I was doing this in a sense of just being able to raise awareness and be able to help others in a sense.”

On What Being a Captain Saturday Was Like and Walking Up Alone

“I feel like just being out there and being at the 50 and seeing all the fans, all 102 screaming fans and seeing the T open up and seeing my team run out and then just looking at the other team from across from me and just understanding and taking it all in that we have a privilege to do this. We get to not have to. And I take that perspective that I talked to you about last night. Every day I take that perspective and I make sure that I am a great teammate, a great boyfriend, a great student, and overall great person to make sure that everyone around me sees the work that I put in and how much I care about people and for them to pay it forward. And just to be here and to be in the position that I am now looking back at it, I'm so grateful. Just seeing everybody, an audience of one, come together in that big stadium we call kneeling to watch us play. It gives me a different type of gratitude and it gives me a whole lot more motivation to go out there and play on Saturday and the next coming Saturdays as well.”

On What It Is Like Playing for Someone Like Josh Heupel

“Man like playing for a coach like that I wouldn't trade anybody in the world for him honestly. Um over the course of these eight months you know I've been through a lot. Um, and he's had my back from start all the way up to now. And without him and guys like him and supporting staff and the coaches that we have here, I don't know if I would be able to get through it, you know. But having guys like that and having a coach like that that's in your corner that's able to stick with you through thick and thin and understand from being a player himself the type of pressure that you have on you every single day to go out there and perform and to let him know that he's backing you throughout the whole way. Man, I'm just so grateful to have a coach like that. I appreciate Coach Heupel”

On the Creativity of the Defense

Sep 5, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Jim Knowles before the game against the Furman Paladins at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Yeah, just seeing the different type of looks and the different type of ways that we can work the coverage in the rush. It's just it's exciting for me to see. Um and just me not being in the game and just looking from the sideline and having a different perspective from it and just seeing how we all complement each other from the back end, from the back seven to the front four. It's just exciting for me to go out there and put it all together whenever I get to.”

On the Support From His Teammates

“Yeah, they've been my backbone through all of this. You know, whenever I feel like I've been down or they can um catch me in a not so great mood. you know, pondering on the situation in the last couple weeks. You know, they would always pick my head up and they would always tell me, It's going to be okay. We got your back going through week one And when you get out there week two, just show them what you've been putting in. Uh show them the work that you've been putting in um all offseason. And you know, those are my guys. They're like my brothers and I feel like they've pushed me all the way through and they're my other reason why I go out there and I give it my all.”

On What He Has Improved

“Yeah. Um other than like you know uh the simple footwork movements you work on those every day. I feel like my play recognition is a lot better with understanding play action run and pass keys and understanding what's happening in front of you with uh false keys and understanding the quarterback and where he's looking at through where does he look through his progressions. I feel like I've gotten better with that through my passing game and um just going out there and playing overall more physical with uh this offseason training that I've been going through.”

On What It Is Like Getting on the Field This Week

“Yeah, it's going to be like a breath of fresh air for me. Honestly, it's going to be like a sense of relief and I feel like all the work I put in this off season I get to go just put it on display and you know, put it on tape as we like to say. And uh it's going to be a great moment. I can't wait.”

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