Arion Carter injury update: Tennessee LB's status revealed vs. Oklahoma on Thursday injury report

The Oklahoma Sooners are traveling to Neyland Stadium for a premier matchup in the SEC against the Tennessee Volunteers. It’s also a game that is, effectively, going to act as an elimination game for the College Football Playoff, with both teams entering with two losses.

This will be the first time the Sooners play in Knoxville since 2015 and just the second time that they’re playing as SEC rivals. A year ago, it was the Volunteers who went into Norman and handed the Sooners a 25-15 loss. That game was itself notable for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel returning to the school he won a national championship at as a quarterback. Undoubtedly, it will become a headline again.

Ahead of that game, both Oklahoma and Tennessee have released their player availability reports. This is the second report of the week and it comes with some time before kickoff in Knoxville.

Oklahoma Sooners

Questionable:
RB Jovantae Barnes
RB Taylor Tatum
OL Logan Howland

Probable:
DB Gentry Williams
LB Kobie McKinzie

Doubtful:
WR Keontez Lewis
OL Derek Simmons

Out:
OL Troy Everett
OL Jacob Sexton
OL Jake Taylor

Tennessee Volunteers

Questionable:
LB Arion Carter

Out:
DB Rickey Gibson III
WR Travis Smith Jr.
DB Jermod McCoy

The major question for Tennessee is the health of linebacker Arion Carter. On Wednesday’s report, he was listed as questionable. He’s been dealing with a turf toe injury and missed last Saturday’s game because of it. With multiple injuries to the secondary, a depleted defense could be in for a challenge against an Oklahoma team that has had its own inconsistencies on offense.

However, for the Sooners, there is an immediate concern along the offensive line. On Wednesday’s injury report, three linemen were already ruled out of the game. Another was doubtful, and a fifth was questionable. In other words, Oklahoma is going to have its depth tested up front. In a hostile environment like Neyland Stadium, that’s not a small worry.

On top of that, Oklahoma had a pair of running backs listed as questionable on Wednesday. That won’t help behind the banged-up offensive line. It also won’t help quarterback John Mateer get back to a more consistent level of play.

Kickoff is currently scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 1st. It’s among the marquee games of the day, and the hope is both teams will be as healthy as possible for it. The next availability report for the game is set to be released on the Friday before the game.