​Linebacker Arion Carter said he was reflective when scanning the Neyland Stadium crowd as Tennessee football’s inactive game captain against Furman but exhilarated by the dynamic Vols defense he witnessed from the sideline.First-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles showed a glimpse of his wizardry with numerous formations and linebacker combinations in the season opener, and Carter is about to join the mix after serving a one-game suspension issued by the NCAA.Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, who played for Knowles last season, directed the defense on the field against Furman. Edwin Spillman was an effective blitzer. Jeremiah Telander was an edge rusher as much as a linebacker. Jadon Perlotte was a guided (and sometimes misguided) missile with a tackle-for-loss and a personal foul for a late hit.It was intriguing, and the plot should thicken when Carter is injected into the lineup.No. 18 Tennessee (1-0) plays Georgia Tech (0-1) on Sept. 12 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.Carter, a 2025 All-SEC performer, will make his season debut after serving a one-game suspension in UT’s 56-9 win over Furman. The NCAA sidelined Carter over controversial circumstances. He accepted a $427 flight from his agent to an NFL pre-draft training facility. He repaid it, but the NCAA still suspended him for accepting an impermissible benefit.Carter turned the negative into a positive, pledging to donate money to charitites that fund cancer treatments. He’ll give $427 for each tackle he makes this season, $500 for each sack, $1,000 for each interception or forced fumble and $5,000 for each defensive touchdown he scores.To make the most of that goodwill, Carter will squeeze into an already-crowded linebacker rotation. How Knowles uses Carter is a critical question because he already showed creativity without him.“Seeing the different type of looks and the different type of ways that we can work the coverage and the rush, it’s exciting for me to see,” Carter said. “And it’s exciting for me to go out there and put it all together whenever I get to.”Jim Knowles did creative things with linebackers in first gameThere’s no indication whether Carter will start against Georgia Tech. But it probably doesn’t matter because Knowles has a deep rotation. He showed a sample of his plans at linebacker in Furman’s first five drives, when five linebackers played in various packages.On the opening drive, Campbell and Spillman started at linebacker. Telander also started, but he was on the line portraying an edge rusher.Those three linebackers were in the same general alignment on the third and fourth drives. Telander stayed on a fixed side, regardless of whether it was the offense’s strong side or weak side. He sometimes dropped into coverage to depict a 3-3-5 alignment.On the second and fifth drives, UT was mostly in a 4-2-5 alignment. Campbell and Telander were the linebackers on the second drive. Telander and Perlotte played on the fifth driv