KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After a convincing 56-9 victory over Furman to open the 2026 campaign, No. 20/18 Tennessee will hit the road for the first time this season Saturday night for a primetime matchup against Georgia Tech at historic Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The Volunteers’ defense had a strong showing in its first game under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and will look to build on that success during this weekend’s trip to Atlanta.
After racking up 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks against the Paladins last Saturday, UT’s already stout defensive unit will be bolstered further by the return of senior captain Arion Carter after the veteran linebacker was forced to sit out the opener due to an NCAA suspension.
Throughout his time in Knoxville, Carter has displayed his impressive leadership traits, which were on full display this offseason when the Smyrna, Tennessee, native cut his hair in support of his girlfriend Mariah Bryant – who is currently battling breast cancer – and revealed his intentions to raise money for her Nashville-area cancer treatments at Sisters Network Nashville.
“A young guy that came in and was very mature, very focused,” head coach Josh Heupel said when asked about Carter’s leadership on Monday. “He’s grown tremendously as a football player, as a leader. I look at his success off the field, that’s in our community, graduating with honors and how much of an impact he has inside our program.
“He represents everything that’s good about college football and certainly represents everything the right way in being a Vol.”
Prior to Heupel’s Monday press conference, it was announced that Carter will partner with his mother Sheteka Alexander’s nonprofit – Girls in Real Life Situations (GIRLS) – to raise money through his play by donating $427 for every tackle he makes this season. Carter will also donate $500 for every sack, $1,000 for every interception or forced fumble and $5,000 if he scores a defensive touchdown this year.
“You can’t really change the circumstances that you’re put in, especially with this one, so I tried to turn a negative into a positive, put a smile on people’s faces,” Carter said during his availability with the local media on Monday afternoon. “And it also goes back even to my mom. She has always wanted to raise a foundation or a non-profit foundation for women and little girls.
“And with my girlfriend going through what she’s went through in these last couple of months, and me seeing it firsthand, it just really touched my heart, and it really made me have a different perspective and want to be able to raise awareness and set up a foundation for cancer research and be able to do this.”
A full transcript of Heupel’s Monday press conference can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel Transcript (Sept. 7, 2026)
Opening statement…
“Good afternoon everybody, great opportunity this week, I don’t think we’ve played at Bobby Dodd Stadium in close to 40 years, but great opportunity against a really good opponent. A lot of steps forward that we need to take as a program to be ready for Saturday night to play our best football. A ton of respect for Georgia Tech, what they’ve done down there, the program that they’ve built. I know it will be a great environment. It’s a physical football game, and we need to get prepared to go play our best.”
On the defense’s first performance with DC Jim Knowles at the helm…
“Our ones played extremely well, assignment sound. I thought our front seven played extremely well, so a lot of positives in game one of year one defensively. There’s some things that, holistically, we have got to continue to grow in, but a positive showing.”
On seeing the on-field effects of Derek Owings‘ strength and conditioning program…
“Our guys did a great job. Coach Owings, his staff have done a great job. Saturday, it wasn’t like everybody played a full 60 minutes either. But, I think the games, the strides that we’ve made in that area have parlayed itself into us playing with the type of physicality that we want to.”
On what caused the slow start to the run game…
“A couple things on the edge, tight ends, they just got to clean up some of their fundamentals. A couple of it was just communication on a different front than what we anticipated and don’t block it right. So, end of the day, it’s nothing major. It’s doing little things, and when you get ready to go on the road at night, the little things add up really quickly. Those are some of the small things that that we got to grow in to be ready to go play the way that we need to Saturday night.”
On the offensive line, and whether the group will continue to see rotation…
“New center playing, some of our issues, some things that we need to clean up stem from communication. That’s all five of them. Ultimately, during the course of the season, you’re going to need more than just five. Guys got their grades today. There’s areas of improvement for all of them, and we’ll see how we play it on Saturday night as we go through the week.”
On Jim Knowles and what he brings to the defense…
“I think he’s good at being able to be different from week to week, in presentations, rotations, pressures. I think he’s a good in-game adjuster as well.”
On the decision to make Arion Carter a solo captain against Furman…
“He’s the strongest leader in our locker room. He represents Tennessee in the exact way that I and our administration, our staff, would want somebody to represent Tennessee. So, it was a no-brainer on Saturday to have him be the guy out there.”
On Arion Carter’s donation for each tackle he makes this season…
“I think it’s indicative of who he is, right? He’s passionate about a cause for multiple reasons, obviously his girlfriend, but his family history as well. A guy who cares about community, so it’s just indicative of who he is as a person. The dollar amount certainly keeps the story alive too.”
On how Arion Carter embodies what it means to be a Tennessee Volunteer…
“A young guy that came in and was very mature, very focused. He’s grown tremendously as a football player, as a leader. I look at his success off the field, that’s in our community, graduating with honors, and how much of an impact he has inside our program. He represents everything that’s good about college football and certainly represents everything the right way in being a Vol.”
On Georgia Tech QB Alberto Mendoza…
“Thought he played extremely smart the other night, you can see him progress through his reads, one through five, and get all the way to the backside of the concept and do it extremely quickly. He was accurate with the football, athletic enough to extend and make plays as a passer and has the feet to go gain yards afterwards too. So, I thought he played extremely well the other night.”
On Tyreek King stepping up in Dodson’s absence…
“Tyreek’s the first guy that needs to continue to grow. He’s done a good job. I mentioned during the course of training camp and got some action the other day, and just basically continued to grow. So, we got great trust in him but certainly there’s urgency and if there wasn’t before, he certainly recognizes that now. ”
On Joakim Dodson’s injury…
“You just hate it for him, you know, one really good kickoff return, just unique in how he gets tackled and how the leg plants. But, from year one finishing the seasons to January just how he has prepared, practiced, trained. Saw great strides in him as a player and disappointing you put all that work in and you get one game of football, so that’s always hard for anybody that goes through that.”
On expectations and challenges for Faizon this coming game…
“Prepare the right way, empty the tank in your preparation. That’s film study, understanding what we’re doing. It always comes down to the little things. That’s at home or on the road, but on the road it’s even amplified. So great communication, control, and command of what we are doing. He’s going to have to make plays but he’s got to take care of the football as well.”
On Brent Key’s physical game strategy …
“They are a physical football team but have some turnover on their offensive line, but they still have a ton of experience. I think over 90 starts on the offensive line. Their running back room is as deep as anybody in the country. They’re physical. They run downhill and got great pad level, and it will be a physical football game on Saturday night, and we have to win with physicality.”
On Georgia Tech’s Justice Haynes…
“Dynamic player, he is extremely physical, runs with great pad level, but he’s got really good vision. We’ve seen him before as a program, he’s a special talent.”
On first quarter decision making…
“Yeah, anticipated them being pretty soft early in the football game. That’s why there weren’t a bunch of shots down the football field, but you talk about playing smart football, the little things adding up. You know we were behind the chains on drive two and drive three from self-inflicted wounds, so all of that is a part of why the first quarter was the way that it was.”
