Tennessee senior linebacker Arion Carter won’t disclose an exact amount he wants to donate to cancer research this Saturday, when the No. 14 Volunteers welcome No. 1 Texas to Neyland Stadium.
He was, however, happy to talk in generalities during Tuesday’s news conference.
“A lot of money,” Carter said smiling. “A lot.”
The 6-foot-1, 238-pounder from the Nashville suburb of Smyrna is donating $427 for every tackle he makes this season, with the $427 reflecting what he paid an agent at the start of the year for a flight to attend an NFL training session before he decided to return to college. Carter repaid the $427 to the agent, but the NCAA viewed the transaction as a Level III violation and suspended him for the Sept. 5 season opener against Furman.
Carter tallied eight tackles in each of the past two weekends against Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State, resulting in a donation of $3,416 per game. Because one of his tackles last Saturday night was a sack, that resulted in an added $500 donation, so his total donation so far is $7,332.
His motivation stems from his mother, Sheteka Alexander, who always wanted to raise a nonprofit foundation for women and little girls, and his girlfriend, Mariah Bryant, who back in June started undergoing treatments for stage 2 breast cancer.
There is also Saturday’s motivation of the game itself and its magnitude.
“We just want to go out there and drive the front and drive the defense and be able to have loud, clear communication and have everybody on the same page,” Carter said. “We have to go out there with a different level of mindset.
“It’s not rising to the occasion but falling back on the level of your training from these last eight or nine months and going out there and holding up to the standard.”
Carter’s eight tackles per game so far is slightly ahead of his 7.6 average last season that led the Southeastern Conference. Two of his tackles have gone for losses, including his sack against the Owls, and he also has a pass breakup.
His performance at Georgia Tech was hist first game action since last November’s loss to Vanderbilt.
“He played better football tonight than he did last week,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after the Kennesaw State game, “and that’s not taking anything away from last week. He’s just getting his feet underneath him.
“Again, he’s one of our elite leaders, so it’s good to see him play that way.”
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Being an elite leader this week will not only be measured by tackles but in matching wits with veteran Texas quarterback Arch Manning and an offense built by Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian.
“You’re going to get shifts and motions 60% of the time in this league before the snap,” Carter said. “You’ve got to be able to have your eyes on the keys and know what you’re looking at. Then you’ve got to be able to understand what you’re going to get in the final picture so you can go out there and play fast.”
‘Legends are made’
The Longhorns are bringing some of the biggest names in college football this weekend with Manning, receiver Cam Coleman and edge rusher Colin Simmons.
Tennessee junior defensive tackle and Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam is off to a stellar start this season with 5.5 tackles for loss and would be up for a little name enhancement as well.
“A thousand percent,” Gilliam said Tuesday. “I’m always playing with a chip on my shoulder. Everybody likes to talk about the big names, and I feel like this is one of those games where legends are made.
“This is an opportunity for people to really learn who I am.”
Neyland’s noise
Sarkisian made multiple trips to Neyland Stadium as an Alabama offensive assistant under Nick Saban.
He was asked this week what makes it so loud.
“You’ve got to ask the engineers who put it together,” Sarkisian said. “It’s 100 and something thousand, so it’s similar to our place. Their fans are engaged. They understand football, and they’ve got a lot of pride in their program, right?
“I don’t know why — if it’s more vertical. I’m not sure. It’s enclosed. It’s definitely a loud place.”
A ‘do-everything guy’
Former McCallie School standout and Vols junior defensive lineman Carson Gentle earned his first career start against Kennesaw State, tallying two tackles and a quarterback hurry.
“He’s just a physical, do-everything guy who knows all the positions,” Gilliam said. “When you’ve got a guy like that, you can really play him anywhere.”
Arch’s first trip
Sarkisian learned this week that Manning, the nephew of legendary Vols quarterback Peyton Manning, has never been to Neyland Stadium.
The Manning family dynamic is an obvious storyline this week, but Sarkisian isn’t wanting to add to it.
“I think what’s important for him is to not to try to be something that doesn’t best suit him,” Sarkisian said. “I want him to be Arch Manning. I don’t want him to be Archie. I don’t want him to be Peyton. I don’t want him to be Eli. I don’t want him to be Colt McCoy. I don’t want him to be Vince Young.
“I want him to be Arch Manning, and Arch Manning is plenty good enough for us to put us in position to win.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.