Whenever hope emerges surrounding the possibility of Tennessee football being even better on defense this year than last year, two names continually pop up: Arion Carter and Jermod McCoy. Both of them are on the Chuck Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List, given annually to the best defender in the nation.
Obviously, with James Pearce Jr. gone and a defensive line that seems a bit thinner, these two will be critical to manning the defense? However, which one is more important? Who will be the more standout Vol when the season comes to an end? There are lots of factors that go into play for that question.
On one side, you have proven production. That would be McCoy, who earned All-American honors last year as a lockdown cornerback and was a freshman All-American with the Oregon State Beavers. The other side, though, has health and potential, and that’s obviously Carter.
McCoy is considered a first-round caliber quarterback per PFF grades, but he is trying to get healthy from an ACL tear. Carter is on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” list for his raw athleticism, but he started all of last year and didn’t earn any of these accolades, nor does he have the production per PFF.
So that brings us back to the question: Who will be the bigger star?
Honestly, the answer is pretty obvious given recent news. McCoy should be the bigger star. Based on last year alone, he’s obviously further along in his role than Carter is. Sure, he’s coming back from an injury, but he is back doing practice drills with the team, so he could be 100 percent in September and should be back there by October.
At 100 percent, McCoy is the better player, and as a lockdown corner, he’s more valuable.
That’s not to dismiss Carter. After a year of experience, he should be much better in coverage, and with his fundamentals complete, his athleticism should make him incredible. Also, Jeremiah Telander manning the middle linebacker spot with more experience than he had last year will make Carter’s job easier.
Simply put, Carter could become the first Tennessee football All-American linebacker since Kevin Burnett, and there’s a reason we have an article up about him being a generational talent. He and McCoy together could make this a historically great defense if everybody stays healthy, and he is definitely moreso the leader.
However, production and the prospect of getting fully healthy are why McCoy is in better shape to be the main star defender for Tenenssee football. Don’t forget, Carter was also a bit banged up in the summer as well, so taking everything into account, McCoy’s combination of potential and proven production is just greater.
