Brent Venables: James Pearce ‘might be the best guy in the country on defense’

One of the marquee college football matchups of the weekend takes place in Norman, where No. 15 ranked Oklahoma hosts No. 6 Tennessee in the Sooners’ first official conference matchup as new members of the SEC.

One could argue that the Volunteers have been the most dominant team in the country through the first three weeks of the season. Outscoring their opponents 191-13 heading into Week 4 (an SEC record) with a lethal offensive attack and an elite defense that has still not allowed a touchdown this season.

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EDGE James Pearce is the star player of the Tennessee defense, destined to take his talents to the NFL level. Pearce is an impact player that Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables gave high praise to ahead of Saturday’s matchup when talking about the Vols’ defense.

“James Pearce, he might be the best guy in the country on defense,” Venables said.”And they’re really experienced up front, very disruptive, very athletic, they’re long, explosive.”

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All of those descriptors that Venables used to describe Tennessee’s defensive front seven could be used to just describe Pearce individually as well. The 6-foot-5, 243-pound pass rusher is the SEC’s returning sack leader after notching 10 last year along with 14.5 tackles for loss and 28 total tackles last season. Pearce also has two defended passes, two forced fumbles, and returned an interception 52 yards for a score in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa.

Pearce’s stats have been underwhelming so far this season, but his impact is still immense. Garnering plenty of attention from offensive lines and surrounded by a unit that’s been absolutely dominant this year.

“They’ve got several new guys in the back end,” Venables added. “But man, they’ve got length, they can run sideline to sideline, they’re playing really aggressive, they mix it up, got good balance to what they do.”

The only time a touchdown has been scored on Tennessee this season was from an interception returned to the house against NC State. With the Vols’ defense allowing no offenses to touch the paint and allowing just two field goals on the season. Also giving up just 160.7 yards per game to lead all teams in the country who’ve played in three games this season.

There’s no question that the Sooners’ offense will have their attention on Pearce this weekend, as their SEC debut kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET in a matchup airing on ABC and streaming on Fubo.