There were whispers that Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter could be a standout player as a freshman last year. Then, shoulder surgery ended his season prematurely. Now, those whispers have grown into full blown declarations that he is one of the best young players on the Vols’ roster.
“Speed and being able to read and react,” the Smyrna native said when asked how he improved from last year. “Being able to understand the schematics of what wants to be done on normal downs and third downs and then also knowing what the offense that we’re playing is trying to do and having a good grasp of what the game plan of how they want to attack us is and how do we need to defend well.”
That’s a lot. Much of it will surely come into play against a Florida team that started 1-2, but with two consecutive victories have seemingly righted the ship.
“Obviously you have the two different quarterbacks,” Carter said, referring to Gators’ Graham Mertz and D.J. Lagway. “Both of the guys do great things when the ball’s in their hands.”
Carter said each quarterback is dynamic with the ball and that they run the offense smoothly. He added that the Gators like to run plenty of shifts, motions and misdirections in order to catch opposing defenses off guard.
“They want to be able to get the ball out in space,” Carter said. “And you see a lot of great things that they do that we have to be able to go defend.”
Carter, who has 23 tackles, including six for a loss, said he’s already “flushed” last week down the drain. The loss to Arkansas is still a touchy subject and one that Carter chose not to dwell on. He’s more concerned about playing Lagway, who has splendid mobility and great touch on his deep ball.
“You’ve got to be assignment sound,” Carter said. “All 11 have to be able to do their job. Whenever you’re going against a dual-threat quarterback, a person who’s able to move in the pocket and be able to create space (and) create time, extra time and space with his legs, you’ve got to be able to corral the guy and get him down on the ground while being able to have great pass coverage.”
The Florida game in Neyland Stadium will mark the first time that Tennessee has been back at home for a game since the Vols thumped Kent State 71-0 on Sept. 14.
It’s always great getting back in Neyland in front of 102,000 or 103,000 screaming fans that have your back,” Carter said. “It’s going to be a great environment Saturday night.
Carter is just a sophomore, but he’s widely considered one of the leaders of Tennessee’s football team, which means he’s needed after the abysmal Arkansas game last week, Florida on the docket this week and Alabama on Oct. 19. This is not a week for the Vols to be “lackadaisical” as running back Dylan Sampson described some of his teammates during Tennessee’s bye week before the Arkansas game.
“If you get any hints of being lax today or if you get any hints of taking the foot off the gas per se, you end up with bad results,” Carter said. “So we’ve got to be able to make sure that we’ve got a pedal to the metal and be able to capitalize off this weekend.”
