Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel met with media on Tuesday ahead of fall training camp kicking off Wednesday.
The sixth-year head coach discussed senior linebacker Arion Carter being suspended by the NCAA for two games. He was suspended for a $427.48 flight, which he repaid, during his NFL pre-draft process.
“You look at Arion, the person and the player that he is every single day, his character, how he impacts the people around him in a positive way, who he is on the field, off the field,” Heupel said. “I think it’s exactly what you would want in a son if you’re his parent, and as a coach, the player that you want inside of your program. He, to me, embodies everything that’s good about college athletics as young men become grown men inside of this
game. Look at his decision to choose a school, now going to be here for four years at that program. That’s a rarity inside of college athletics today. Again, I think he embodies everything that college football wants inside of their players and represents the game in such a positive way. First three years here, he’s an SEC academic honor roll member. He’s a member of the SEC Football Leadership Council. At the end of the month, he’s going to graduate with honors from the University of Tennessee. He’s done everything the right way. You ask anybody inside of our program, and staff and players, he is the leader of this program and he’s earned the right to be the leader of this program.
“The ruling that came out from the NCAA, the two-game suspension, I truly believe is BS. You look at the landscape of college football, the rules from NIL, everything, I think the ruling is completely outdated, and disappointed for him and for us in the result of that ruling. AC, at the end of last year, had to make a choice. He chose to put his name in the NFL draft process. At the end of, middle of January, late, right before the deadline, where you have to make a final declaration, he found out that he needed a medical procedure. It was going to require surgery. He made the choice, and the right choice for him, to come back to college football. He was upfront and honest. The fact that he paid back the $400 flight, he’s done everything, handled everything the right way. Very truthful and upfront about everything, and I think it’s unfortunate that a young man that, again, represents everything inside of this game the right way, is faced with that ruling.”
The Vols will kick off their 2026 football season on Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m. EDT, SEC Network+).
Tennessee is ranked No. 18 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Everything Josh Heupel said about Arion Carter's NCAA suspension
