​It’s about that time once again — talkin’ season has arrived. Each SEC program will head down to Tampa next week to unofficially get football season going. Tennessee will take part in Monday’s portion of the week, featuring veteran linebackers Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander, along with running back DeSean Bishop.It’s round two for Carter, who represented Tennessee last year down in Atlanta. The Smyrna native returns to Knoxville for one final ride after changing his mind on the NFL Draft back in December. Carter will enter 2026 healthy after undergoing toe surgery during the offseason, hopefully fixing an issue that cost him some time last fall.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTelander also returns to a veteran linebacker room that may actually be the best in the country. Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, Edwin Spillman and several younger players will round out Tennessee’s deep depth chart.DeSean Bishop returns to once again lead the offense and will be set for a massive role once again. Tennessee’s experienced offensive line should once again have Bishop sitting as one of the most productive backs in the country.Kentucky, Missouri, and Oklahoma will all join Tennessee to get things going on Monday next week. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will also deliver his state of the conference address.