The Tennessee Vols received an unexpected boost on Sunday when news broke that linebacker Arion Carter is returning to UT for his final season of eligibility.

Carter declared for the 2026 NFL Draft in December. He withdrew from the draft on Friday and subsequently entered the NCAA transfer portal.

The Tennessee native totaled 76 tackles in 2025, which was third on the team. Carter played in 10 of the Vols’ 13 games this past season.

On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported over the weekend that Tennessee was “back in the picture” with Carter thanks to Vols head coach Josh Heupel.

“Heupel has had ‘several conversations’ with Carter and has also talked with his parents Saturday, a source with knowledge tells On3,” noted Wiltfong. “Tennessee is now ‘up first’ before Carter explores other potential options.”

Wiltfong noted that Heupel had “invested hours” in getting Carter back to Knoxville.

The real reason Arion Carter is returning to Tennessee in 2026 instead of transferring

When the report surfaced on Friday that Carter was withdrawing from the NFL Draft and entering the portal, it came as quite a surprise to Tennessee fans.

Carter, after all, is a Tennessee native who was a tremendous ambassador for UT football during his first three seasons in Knoxville (Carter represented Tennessee at SEC Media Days last summer).

104.5 The Zone’s Lucas Panzica explained Monday on the A to Z Sports Tennessee YouTube Channel why Carter entered the portal on Friday (and why he’s returning to Tennessee).

Essentially, there wasn’t much time between withdrawing from the draft and Carter making his next move. And because the Vols had already added Penn State transfer linebacker Amare Campbell to the roster, Carter was unsure whether he still had a spot at Tennessee (Campbell played under new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles at Penn State in 2025).

So Carter, who withdrew from the draft due to injury concerns, had to enter the portal just in case things didn’t work out with Tennessee (he had to keep his options open since Friday was the last day to enter the portal).

“Here’s how it went down, after talking to somebody close to the situation,” said Panzica. “So Arion Carter had declared for the NFL draft and was liking the feedback he was getting from NFL teams. [He was] largely getting back a day two grade — second or third round. So that was the intent. But then very late in the game — on Friday, the day the transfer portal closed — Arion Carter learned he would not be able to play through the toe injury that held him back last fall and that he was going to require surgery that would have him out for about three to six months. This would very negatively impact his draft stock, so the best course of action at that point to return to college for another year.

“But like I said, this was Friday afternoon when the transfer portal was about to close. Tennessee had made moves to replace Carter after he declared, so he and his team were not sure if the Vols would be able to have him back. Arion Carter filed the paperwork to enter his name into the portal as a contingency plan in case Tennessee was unable to have him back in Knoxville. Now, the good news for Arion Carter and for Tennessee football is the Vols worked out his return, and he comes into a linebacker room that suddenly may be the deepest on the roster…Arion Carter never wanted to play anywhere other than Tennessee in the college game. His hope, once he realized he was going to need surgery, was always to come back and be a VFL.”

Fortunately for Tennessee and Carter, everything got worked out. And now the former four-star recruit will have the opportunity to boost his draft stock in 2026 and possibly work his way into being a first round selection in the 2027 NFL Draft.