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Josh Heupel says Boo Carter remains on Tennessee football team despite skipping workouts
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- Josh Heupel says Boo Carter remains on Tennessee football team despite skipping workouts
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel said standout player Boo Carter reported to preseason practice and remains on the 2025 Vols roster despite missing multiple team activities in the summer.
"Boo is a part of our team here. There's some things that he's got to accomplish to get back on the field with us," Heupel said on July 29, the day before UT starts preseason practice.
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"Don't have a set timeline on that. Our leadership council has been part of those things — those discussions — with me and with Boo. Proud of what they have done. They care and love Boo and want him to be his best, too. Through this, I think Boo sees that as well."
Carter, a Preseason All-SEC selection, was preparing to be a three-way player for the Vols in the 2025 season.
Knox News learned that Carter missed numerous team activities over the summer, and he was confronted by team leaders because of his absence. Communication between Carter and the team became strained after that.
"It's not about what yesterday was, it's about today," Heupel said. "We'll see as we continue to progress where that leads us."
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Heupel talked with Carter in the week prior to preseason practices beginning. He also spoke with the team's leadership council throughout the process to establish what Carter must to do be with the team. He stressed such actions will be handled internally and did not go into detail.
"I am not worried about the chemistry," Heupel said. "At the end of the day, there's standards we all have to meet. That is everybody in the building. When somebody fails in that, whether they get another chance or not, each situation is different. Ultimately, Boo has got to meet those standards here as we move forward."
Carter was supposed to be putting in extra time to prepare to play offense, defense and special teams. He practiced in all three phases during spring, and Heupel praised him at that time.
"When you do that, there's a whole other work load which you take on because you've got to understand what's going on on both sides of the football," Heupel said on April 7 . "He's done a really good job and spent a lot of extra time in here."
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But Carter didn't continue that throughout the summer, raising questions about whether he could expand his role.
Why Boo Carter is so important to Tennessee football
Carter is among UT's most talented players. Last season, he earned SEC All-Freshman honors as a defensive back and return specialist.
The Chattanooga native started at Star position, what UT calls its nickelback, and posted 38 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, one sack, three quarterback hurries and one interception. And he led the SEC with a 16.5-yard average on punt returns.
BOO: Everything Josh Heupel said about Boo Carter remaining with Tennessee football
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In spring practice, UT started exploring ways to use Carter at wide receiver , as well. The 2025 season is supposed to allow Carter to do his best impression of Travis Hunter , who won the 2024 Heisman Trophy as a two-way player at Colorado.
"We are going to take it slow here in the beginning and we will figure out where we are at as we get deeper into camp," Heupel said when asked about Carter still playing offense this season after missing time.
Carter was among three UT players voted to the 2025 Preseason All-SEC team, along with injured cornerback Jermod McCoy and linebacker Arion Carter.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com . X, formerly known as Twitter @AdamSparks . Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe .
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Boo Carter: Tennessee football star still on roster, Josh Heupel says
