‘I like Tennessee’ – Colorado defensive back Boo Carter talks about leaving the Vols and ‘false claims’
Defensive back Boo Carter spent the first two seasons of his career with the Tennessee Vols before transferring to Colorado.
One of the biggest stories of the 2025 Tennessee football season was defensive back Boo Carter’s departure from the program.
Carter, a former four-star recruit, was reportedly dismissed from the team in November after he didn’t show up for the Vols’ game against New Mexico State.
Carter wasn’t going to play against New Mexico State due to a hip flexor strain, but he was still expected to be at the game.
Carter released a statement following the report of his dismissal that stated his season had been cut short “due to injury.”
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank The University of Tennessee Coaches, administrators and fans for a wonderful 2 years,” wrote Carter in a tweet. “Unfortunately my season has been cut short due to injury. I have decided to enter the transfer portal and I am excited about the opportunities going forward!”
The breakup between Carter and Tennessee came after the Chattanooga native reportedly missed numerous team activities prior to the 2025 season.
Boo Carter gets asked about leaving Tennessee
Carter, who transferred to Colorado in January, spoke with BuffBlitz.com’s Brian Howell this week and touched on his departure from Tennessee.
“My time there was pretty cool,” said Carter. “I like Tennessee. I was a home state guy. But you know, [I] had the altercations going on. But that is part of life. You just move on and keep going.”
“I don’t really know,” continued Carter when asked why he’s misunderstood. “[There is] a lot of false claiming that’s been going around with the media from me leaving Tennessee. … You just got to get to know me. I’m a cool guy. I don’t like to talk a lot, but I would talk and open up and talk to you. But I’m a cool guy. My mindset is just really on ball and winning.”
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said last week that he hasn’t had any problems with Carter since the former Vol arrived in Boulder earlier this year.
“When scouts come out, he’s one of the first young men they ask about,” said Sanders. “Boo could be a pro this year for certain. But he’s a bonafide top-five pick if it was another year. But this year, I feel like he would be a first-rounder when he puts it all on tape and does what he’s capable of doing.
“I think he’s the best athlete on the team. He could do multiple things. If I wanted to put him on offense, I think he would shine there. But that was our deal — dominate the defensive game, and then we’ll see about that (offense). But the kid, attitude-wise and mentality-wise is A plus. I haven’t had any problems with him whatsoever. And he’s not problematic. He just wants to know you and wants a relationship to understand that you’ve got his back, and I think he knows that from me. We keep it a buck with one another.”
Earlier this year, Carter’s dad, Terrence Holland, said that Boo tried to make it work at Tennessee, but Colorado is ultimately where he was meant to be.
“It (Colorado) was something that we kind of wanted to do from the start,” said Holland. “But at the same time, we were trying to make that hometown hero. We tried to make that work. We wish Tennessee the best, but it just didn’t work out. And we kind of really ended up where we were supposed to be at.”
After playing nickelback at Tennessee, Carter, who undoubtedly has NFL talent, is expected to play cornerback at Colorado this fall.
