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In December, Arion Carter declared for the NFL Draft and signed with an agent. The agent bought him a plane ticket to a pre-draft training facility. It cost $427.48. He hurt his foot during the process, pulled out of the draft, and went back to Tennessee for his senior year. Then he paid the agent back for the flight out of his own pocket. The NCAA suspended him anyway. Three games at first. Tennessee appealed and got it to two. More public backlash got it down to one. He sat out the opener, a 56-9 win over Furman. Tennessee elected him a game captain for it anyway and walked out to midfield with him standing there in street clothes. He's eligible again Saturday at Georgia Tech. And he's decided what to do about the $427. For every tackle he makes this season, Carter is donating $427. Every sack is $500. Every interception or forced fumble is $1,000. A defensive touchdown is $5,000. He led the SEC in tackles per game last year and finished with 76 despite missing time hurt. Match that and it's roughly $32,500 out of his own pocket. The money goes to Nashville-area charities, including Sisters Network Nashville, which exists to help cancer patients pay medical bills. Here's why. In February, Carter's girlfriend Mariah Bryant was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She's an ICU nurse in Nashville. She spends her working life keeping people alive. Carter is also helping cover her treatment. "Really, it started with the whole incident behind Mariah having cancer and we're figuring it out," he told Volquest. "Especially with young females that go through harsh things like this, but more importantly, people in general." He's mentioned October specifically. Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He wants how he plays that month to mean something. So the number everybody is laughing about as a shot at the NCAA is not really about the NCAA at all. He needed a number. They handed him one.