NCAA suspends Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter
Arion Carter has been suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of Tennessee football's upcoming season.
Veteran linebacker Arion Carter has been suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of Tennessee's upcoming season, Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on Wednesday.
A UT spokesperson confirmed Carter's suspension to GoVols247.
The NCAA elected to suspend Carter because of a $427 flight that was paid for him while he was going through the NFL pre-draft process. Carter was suspended even though he repaid the money according to Sparks' reporting.
Carter will miss Tennessee's season opener against Furman as a result. He'll also miss UT's road trip to Georgia Tech the second week of the season.
Josh Heupel was not happy with the NCAA's decision to suspend one of his leaders.
The linebacker declared for the NFL Draft in mid-December after an All-SEC junior season he achieved despite playing more than two months of the season with double turf toe, an injury severe enough for surgery. It sidelined Carter for the entire pre-draft process. He eventually withdrew from the draft with the intentions of entering the transfer portal before he and Tennessee worked out a return for his senior season.
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