Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter keeps stacking honors, and the latest one puts him in the running for one of college football’s most respected awards.
Carter was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Butkus Award, which goes annually to the nation’s most outstanding linebacker, the Butkus Foundation announced Wednesday. He is one of 15 semifinalists nationally and one of five from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC group also includes Texas’ Rasheem Biles, Georgia’s Chris Cole, Oklahoma’s Owen Heineke and Missouri’s Nicholas Rodriguez.
For Tennessee, this is a notable moment on the awards calendar. Carter is the program’s first Butkus semifinalist since A.J. Johnson in 2014.
The Smyrna, Tennessee, native has put together a strong senior season in seven games. He has 46 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries and one pass breakup. PFF credits him with 12 pressures.
He has also been central to a Tennessee defense that has been tough to crack. Carter is a captain on a unit that has held six of its eight opponents to 20 points or fewer.
The Vols are allowing 16.3 points per game, good for 20th nationally and third in the SEC. That’s a sharp jump from last season, when Tennessee finished 91st and gave up 28.8 points per game.
Carter came back for his senior year and has built a career stat line that reflects just how much he has produced over time: 207 tackles, including 90 solo stops, along with 18.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 11 pass breakups.
His recognition stretches beyond the field, too. Carter is a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and a finalist for the William V.
Campbell Trophy. As part of the 2026 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, he is also in the mix for the most prestigious scholar-athlete award in college football.
Academically, Carter graduated with honors from Tennessee in August with a degree in public health. He has been on the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times and represented the Vols on the SEC Football Leadership Council.
The Butkus Award has been around since 1985 and is one of the sport’s most recognized individual honors for linebackers. Finalists will be announced on Nov. 20, and the winner will be named the week of Dec. 7.
2026 Butkus Award Semifinalists
Maverick Baranowski, Minnesota
Rasheem Biles, Texas
Drayk Bowen, Notre Dame
Sammy Brown, Clemson
Cam Buffington, Iowa
Arion Carter, Tennessee
Chris Cole, Georgia
Owen Heineke, Oklahoma
Derek McDonald, North Carolina
Sammy Omosigho, UCLA
Mason Posa, Wisconsin
Ben Roberts, Texas Tech
Nicholas Rodriguez, Missouri
Tony Rojas, Penn State
Cade Uluave, BYU
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