What does it take to succeed in college football? A 5-star talent goes a long way, along with sustained hard work throughout. However, without discipline, nothing is guaranteed. Something similar happened with Tennessee’s Boo Carter, who was the third-ranked athlete in the 2024 class, now frozen out from the squad. However, his replacement isn’t as good, and that presents a dilemma for Josh Heupel.

Heupel registered a statement, 42-9, win against New Mexico State in Week 12 and is 7-3 in the season. However, despite the win, Heupel echoed concerns about the performance of freshman Ty Redmond. “Life in the SEC, you’re playing against some really great competition. When you’re young, they’re going to try you. There’s been some ups and downs… I love his resiliency,” said Heupel. But why not use Boo Carter instead?

Redmond was recruited in the 2025 class as a three-star cornerback, ranked 669th overall. So far, in his freshman season, the 6’2″ and 192 lbs DB has notched 22 solo tackles, along with two interceptions. However, that performance is still eclipsed by what Boo Carter had produced in his freshman season. The 5’11” and 200 lbs DB was pivotal on many fronts and was voted SEC All-Freshman in 2024.

Carter had notched 38 tackles in his freshman season and also returned 12 punts for 198 yards. That performance was crucial in Tennessee, making the playoffs for the first time. Redmond, too, is playing well this season and so far has exceeded expectations. That was the reason Coach Heupel still looks highly confident in Redmond and has predicted him to “continue to grow.” Still, having sophomore Boo Carter regularly would have paid massive dividends. Especially since Redmond’s freshman errors still show.

For instance, Redmond has missed many tackles, and the Vols lead the SEC in missed tackles. For context, coming into the Oklahoma game, which Tennessee lost, the team missed 12.3 tackles per game. That means one tackle missed for every 6.4 defensive plays, making Josh Heupel’s worst in five years. Redmond has contributed a fair share of those missed tackles and had missed eight tackles before the Oklahoma game. Having Boo Carter in his place surely could have alleviated some of Redmond’s woes.

Josh Heupel puts an end to hopes of Boo Carter’s return

It’s surely a nice thought to have Boo Carter play regularly for the team. However, Carter has been at the center of ongoing disciplinary issues ever since July 2025. For instance, Carter missed several voluntary offseason practices and workouts going into the fall camp and also had a confrontation with team leaders. According to reports, the confrontation even led to a physical altercation as teammates were upset that his absence forced others to bear an extra workload. And now, as we move into the latter part of the season, the issues remain.

Heupel, in his post-game presser after the New Mexico State game, was asked about Carter’s unavailability, and the head coach didn’t mince his words. “At the end of the day, there’s a standard you’ve gotta meet to be in that locker room. So he was not out on the field with us. That will be my last response to anything related to that for right now,” said a stern Tennessee head coach. This effectively puts Carter’s return unlikely.

Due to the July 2025 controversy, Carter missed some time with the team. However, the player was reinstated in the squad and worked his way back into the coaching staff’s approval grades. This season, Carter has appeared sporadically in eight games so far and has notched 25 tackles. That surely is not the ideal career trajectory Carter would have expected. But hopefully, with a change of attitude, he can utilize his immense talent to make a solid comeback with the team.