Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel called 'bull---' about Arion Carter suspension

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel called the NCAA's decision to suspend linebacker Arion Carter as "bull----" at the Vols' preseason media day on Aug. 4.

>“The ruling that came out from the NCAA, the two-game suspension, I truly believe is bull----," Heupel said.

>Heupel's comments came six days after Carter was suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of the season against Furman (Sept. 5) and Georgia Tech (Sept. 12). The suspension stemmed from Carter returning to college after his agent paid for a $427 flight to an NFL pre-draft training facility, which amounted to an improper material benefit per NCAA rules.

>Heupel released an earlier statement defending Carter and publicly disagreeing with the NCAA's decision right after the suspension was made public. He struck a similar tone in his opening statement on Aug. 4.

Why Arion Carter was suspended by NCAACarter announced that he had declared for the 2026 NFL Draft following his junior season and hired an agent, who paid for his $427 flight to the site of a pre-draft training facility. Carter later withdrew from the draft after his previously injured foot flared back up, and on Jan. 19 he terminated his contract with the agent.

>But the NCAA found that Carter had committed a Level III violation because the flight qualified as an improper material benefit and his intentions at the time were to pursue a professional career. If the transportation cost was part of an NIL deal it wouldn't have violated NCAA rules, but once Carter signed a contract with an agent to represent his interests in professional sports, benefits like transportation costs jeopardized his college eligibility, even though he later repaid the agent for the flight.

>The NCAA initially issued a three-game suspension that was reduced to two games after UT appealed.Although he will miss the start of the season, Carter can still practice with the team. The Vols start preseason practice on Aug. 5.

>Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_

>This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel called 'bull---' about Arion Carter suspension