James Pearce

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel says the hype is real with edge rusher James Pearce Jr. "It does speak to his talent and some of the things that he’s done on the football field," Heupel said heading into the 2024 season. "James is long, athletic. He’s made a bunch of plays. There’s still a lot of growth for James in his understanding of the game, being able to play at the level consistently that he’s capable of and that he wants to. He’s a young player still in our program. I say that (meaning) he wasn’t a mid-year enrollee; he’s had two falls with us. We still expect to see a ton of growth in him and go handle the season the right way. But is he a top draft-pick candidate? You bet." During his sophomore season at Tennessee, Pearce tied for the SEC lead with 10 sacks and ranked second with 14.5 tackles-for-loss. And he ranked third nationally among edge rushers in pass-rushing grades, according to Pro Football Focus.