Carter handed two-game suspension by NCAA for pre-draft flight

Tennessee all-conference linebacker Arion Carter was suspended for two games by the NCAA on Wednesday related to an agent paying for a $427 flight to a training facility during the pre-draft process. Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel was the first to report the suspension. The two-game suspension will keep Carter off the field for the season opener on Sept. 5 against Furman as well as the first road game of the year on Sept. 12 at Georgia Tech. It will not affect his ability to practice with the Vols when fall camp opens next week. Following last season, Carter declared early for the NFL Draft and hired an agent to go through the process. The agent paid for the linebacker to take a $427.48 flight to a training facility in December to start preparing for the draft. While training, Carter suffered an injury in his foot which required a procedure. After the procedure, Carter withdrew his name from the draft and returned to Tennessee. In the process, he parted ways with the professional agent and repaid the agent for the flight. The distinction the NCAA made when imposing the suspension was, since Carter received the perk from an NFL agent, rather than as part of an NIL package, it sees him as receiving them as a professional. Sparks reported the suspension was originally three games, but Tennessee appealed it and it became two games. "Arion Carter represents everything that is right about college athletics, dedicating all four years of his career to the University of Tennessee," Vols head coach Josh Heupel said in a statement. "His high character, loyalty and leadership within our program are unmatched." "We disagree with the NCAA's ruling on punishing Arion with a multi-game suspension this fall," he added. "Arion made the right decision for his future health and well-being. He will proudly graduate from Tennessee in public health with Dean's List honors in August. Our team stands behind AC and his family, and we can't wait to be on the field with him during training camp next week." Carter averaged 7.6 tackles per game last season and was named to the third team of the preseason All-SEC team earlier this month by members of the media. While the suspension is a blow for the Vols, they do have depth at inside linebacker. Edwin Spillman led UT in tackles last season with 81 and Jeremiah Telander posted 80 total tackles. They also brought in Penn State's leading tackler, Amare Campbell, from the transfer portal and returned Jadon Perlotte as a promising younger piece.