William Inge noticed the car sitting in a near-empty parking lot throughout the summer.

Tennessee's first-year linebackers coach had seen it enough to know that it belonged to Arion Carter, who stayed late--sometimes into the wee hours of the morning--in the facilities watching film.

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Carter's approach, coming off of an injury that sidelined him late in a promising freshman season a year ago, is one of a number of things that Inge has learned about the makeup of the Vols' linebackers room over the last five months.

"Their element of preparation is, for them, I would say beyond their years right now to see the things that they do when no one is watching, when you’re not around," Inge said. "They are what you would call your 'junkies in the building.' Sometimes when you leave the parking lot, how you say, ‘well gosh, there’s, there’s a car sitting over there.’ I wonder is this car broken? So I would send a text message, ‘Hey, AC (Arion Carter) man is your car, are you okay? Is your car good?'

"No coach, I’m just here in the linebacker room watching a film and this at 10:30, 11 o’clock at night. And that’s, to me, that’s what it’s all about."

It didn't take long for Carter to make an impression on Inge, who took the job after two seasons at Washington in February, just like it didn't take long for Carter to make an impression at Tennessee as a newcomer.

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee linebackers coach William Inge gives thoughts on fall camp

A highly sought after prospect from Smyrna, Tennessee in the Vols' 2024 signing class, Carter appeared in eight games and found himself in a bigger role than expected because of injuries.

Carter was seemingly hitting his stride at WILL linebacker before his own injury derailed his season against Kentucky in November.

He underwent shoulder surgery and was limited in spring practices, making little to no contact through 15 practices. Now, he's back on the field, going full speed three practices into Tennessee's fall camp and poised for a starting spot.

"It was a minor setback for a major comeback," Carter said. "I was so grateful for having a great support staff, teammates. A great athletic training staff to get me where I am now, if not even better than where I was."

Carter is faster than he was this time last year.

He looked the part of a player that could have an immediate impact when he arrived on campus in December 2022, weighing in at more than 240 pounds and turned heads at spring practice.

But the injury, coupled with his experiences getting on the field in the first half of the season made Carter realize that he needed to slim down to get quicker to adjust to an ever-changing game that now requires linebackers to cover more field.

Carter says he now weighs 225, which has made his explosiveness at the position more noticeable than it was before.

"Obviously at (240 pounds), I felt strong and I was able to physically be the part," Carter said. "But we're in a game now where you have to run sideline to sideline, be able to cover receivers, running backs, tight ends. I feel like me being at a smaller weight, it's a big difference."

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter talks return from injury

Carter's physical transformation comes at a time when Tennessee is looking to replace Aaron Beasley, who starred at WILL linebacker in the previous two seasons, even leading the team in tackles in 2022.

The Vols caught a glimpse of some of that last season when Carter totaled 17 tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup from the position, but should get more out of him this season.

“The element that (Carter) has, something that you can’t coach, is his speed and his quickness," Inge said. "He is elusive when he’s on the football field, almost like a cheetah. So it’s great to have a linebacker that can move like that, but have the body that he has from a physical nature. He’s someone we’re going to be able to really utilize in the days, years, and games to come.”

Carter went through the motions last spring.

He stretched and went through a few of the drills early in practice, but when it was time to make contact, Carter was off to the side--an unfamiliar spot for a player that prided himself on physicality.

Carter was put there because of his shoulder injury and the subsequent recovery that he admitted at times was hard to accept. For the most part, though, he found a way for it to benefit his game.

"It was real tough (not playing in the spring)," Carter said. "Obviously you want to be out there with the guys, go through the grind. It was, in hindsight, a blessing because I was able to take mental reps and I was able to walk through different stuff."

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee holds third day of fall camp

Carter is back to health and back to full speed in fall camp.

Inge, a newcomer to Tennessee that had only been on the job for less than two months when the Vols began spring practices, could see some of that even at half-speed.

Now, he has seen more of the scope--one that will become complete when Tennessee puts on pads for the first time next week--and sees in Carter a player that is in the early stages of a successful career.

"There were some times in the spring I didn’t know that there was a problem, seeing (Carter) move. He just couldn’t have any contact," Inge said. "So I knew from the element of him being able to move him, being able to run, him being able to change the direction, we were going to get something that was going to be elite. Now you put together some of the physicality, him being able to make the plays on at the point of attack from a contact standpoint, you can see he’s going to be one of the elite linebackers that you all will be talking about in the days to come in, years to come.”

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