Tennessee senior linebacker Arion Carter was announced as one of 89 nominees for the 2026 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award on Thursday.

Nominated by their schools, the members of the watch list have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.

An undisputed defensive leader and team captain, Carter led the team in tackles during the regular season in 2025 despite battling through a foot injury, finishing with 76 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 10 games played. His 7.6 tackles per game led the SEC, as well.

The Smyrna, Tennessee, native, was one of 20 semifinalists for the Witten Award last year and opted to return for his senior season after exploring entering the NFL Draft.In conjunction with his on-field success, Carter's list of achievements off the field are equally, if not more impressive. The Preseason All-SEC selection served as Tennessee's representative on the 2025 SEC Football Leadership Council, providing guidance to the conference and Commissioner Greg Sankey.

Additionally, Carter has served as one of UT's player representatives at SEC Media Days in each of the last two years (2025 & 2026) and was a member of the 2024-25 VOLeaders Academy, culminating with a service trip to Brazil.Along with his teammates, Carter has been a regular visitor to patients at the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital in Knoxville, as well.

This summer, Carter shaved his head in support of his 24-year-old girlfriend, Mariah, who underwent a double mastechtomy and was undergoing chemotherapy to battle stage 2 breast cancer.

Earlier this week, 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.

Twenty semifinalists will be selected by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee and announced on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Three finalists will then be named for the award on Monday, Dec. 14. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony, which will take place in Spring of 2027.

The award is named after Witten, a former Tennessee tight end who went on to be one of the best on the field in the NFL. He was also lauded for his work off the field during his playing days.

Alabama Bray Hubbard

UAB Adam Lepkowski

Appalachian St. Colton Phares

Arizona Noah Fifita

Arkansas Jaden Platt

Army Owen Walter

Auburn Byrum Brown

Baylor Michael Allen

Boise State Maddux Madsen

Boston College KP Price

BYU Andrew Gentry

California Jordan King

Cincinnati Evan Tengesdahl

Clemson Ashton Hampton

Colorado Ben Finneseth

Colorado State Hauss Hejny

Delaware Steven Demboski

Duke Matt Craycraft

Eastern Michigan Zach Mowchan

Florida Myles Graham

Florida Atlantic Caden Veltkamp

Florida State Duce Robinson

Georgia Lawson Luckie

Georgia Southern Josh Dallas

Georgia Tech Kyle Efford

Hawai’i Elijah Palmer

Houston Conner Weigman

Illinois Ismael Kante

Indiana Tyrique Tucker

Iowa Jayden Montgomery

Iowa State Jaylen Raynor

Kansas Calvin Clements

Kansas State Joe Jackson

Kennesaw St. Baron Hopson

Kent State Wayne Harris

Kentucky Willie Rodriguez

LSU Whit Weeks

Louisiana Lunch Winfield

Louisville Clev Lubin

Maryland Malik Washington

Marshall Toby Payne

Massachusetts Timmy Hinspeter

Miami Mark Fletcher, Jr.

Michigan Jordan Marshall

Michigan State Jordan Hall

Middle Tennessee Cam Lacy

Mississippi State DJ Chester

Missouri Dominick Giudice

Navy Braxton Woodson

Nebraska Justin Evans

North Carolina Jordan Shipp

NC State Isaiah Shirley

North Texas Zakye Barker

Notre Dame Leonard Moore

Ohio State Carson Hintzman

Ole Miss Keaton Thomas

Oklahoma David Stone

Old Dominion Koa Naotala

Oregon Dante Moore

Oregon State Nick Norris

Penn State Cooper Cousins

Pittsburgh Mason Heintschel

Purdue Hudauri Hines

Rice Chibby Nwajuaku

San Jose State Naseri Danielson

SMU Kevin Jennings

South Carolina Nyck Harbor

Syracuse Steve Angeli

USC Jayden Maiava

Stanford Davis Warren

Temple Peter Clarke

Tennessee Arion Carter

Texas Hero Kanu

Texas A&M Marcus Ratcliffe

TCU Ansel Din-Mbuh

Texas Tech J’Koby Williams

UTSA Camron Cooper

Toledo Matt Hofer

Tulane Jackson Courville

Utah JC Hart

Utah State Javen Jacobs

Vanderbilt Nick Rinaldi

Virginia Ethan Minter

Virginia Tech Marcellous Hawkins, Jr.

Wake Forest Zach Lohavichan

Washington Landen Hatchett

West Virginia Jaden Bray

Source: Yahoo Sports