The Tennessee Vols have a future defensive superstar on their roster that isn't being talked about much outside of Knoxville.

But he'll soon be a household name. 

Vols true freshman linebacker Arion Carter, a former four-star recruit from Smyrna, TN, has received an abundant amount of praise this summer from coaches and teammates. 

And this isn't just the normal "he works hard and cares a lot" type of praise. Carter, who arrived on campus last December prior to Tennessee's bowl game, has truly wowed folks in Knoxville. 

"I have to shout out Arion Carter," said Vols redshirt senior tight end McCallan Castles earlier this month. "That dude fills holes fast and he is going to lace you in the hole. I've never seen a dude come in so ready to play from a young guy standpoint."

Tennessee redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren added to the praise for Carter during a recent appearance on Off the Hook Sports. 

"We call him AC," said Warren. "AC, he's special, dude."

"You get guys like that and you can tell kind of pretty quickly that they're a little different, right? They're built a little bit better than everybody else," added Warren. "They're a little bit stronger. A little faster. But just his mental game. The way that he's able to play middle linebacker at such a high level, at such a young age — it's great to see."

"His physicality, his quickness, his ability to read plays — all those things like that, it's truly impressive. And you'll see it in the fall. He's going to have a great impact on the team."

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks seemed particularly pleased with Carter's coverage abilities while talking to reporters earlier this spring — which is especially encouraging considering the Vols' coverage issues in the middle of the field in recent years. 

"The athleticism you can't hide," said Banks in March. "I was really pleased with the instincts that he showed in coverage. I think a lot of times for linebackers, typically when they come out of high school, they are guys that just come off the edges or guys that are just thumpers inside. For you guys who saw him in play in high school, you know he was a tremendous running back, obviously blossomed as a linebacker. He's got really good instincts, and like I said, I was pleased with what he showed in coverage."

Carter hasn't been perfect — he's still a true freshman after all — but his mistakes aren't like mistakes that other players make. According to Vols linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, Carter's elite athleticism allows him to still make plays even when he doesn't execute properly.

"The thing with Arion is that he plays so hard, fast and is a great athlete so he's able to overcome some of those mistakes that maybe some other people can't," noted Jean-Mary after Tennessee's first week of preseason camp. 

Carter spoke earlier this month about being able to make plays even while making mistakes. 

"I'll be maybe out of phase, but I'll be able to work back into it just because of natural ability," explained Carter. "But those are the little things that I've been trying to clean up working from spring to fall. And being able to capitalize off of my natural ability."

Carter was asked if had an example of a time when he was able to make a play even though he wasn't in the right spot. 

"In spring ball, I wasn't in the right gap," said Carter. "I was supposed to work over to A gap, but I shot the B gap and worked all the way over when the ball was handed to the opposite side and I was able to make a tackle. I wasn't in the right spot, but I shot the gap fast enough to make the play." 

Carter has the potential to be the kind of stud linebacker that Tennessee hasn't seen since Jerod Mayo was terrorizing offensive SEC players a decade and a half ago. 

The exciting thing for Tennessee is that not only is Carter a player who can be a game changer on the defensive side of the ball, but he'll also be able to contribute as a true freshman and provide UT's defense with much-needed depth. Depth isn't a sexy word, but having a player as talented as Carter that's ready to come off the bench late in a grind-it-out SEC contest could be the difference in a win or a loss.

The lack of depth has cost the Vols at times in Josh Heupel's first two seasons. The presence of Carter, as well as some of the other talented young defensive players that Tennessee's signed in recent recruiting cycles, could immediately spell the end of the depth concerns in Knoxville. And it won't be long before Carter is more than just depth — he's poised to be a star on Rocky Top. 

Why a prominent national media outlet says Tennessee is ‘overrated’ entering the 2023 season

A prominent national media outlet says the Tennessee Vols are ‘overrated’ entering the 2023 season

Featured image via USA TODAY Sports