What Josh Heupel said about James Pearce's NFL Draft stock after Tennessee's Pro Day

What Josh Heupel said about James Pearce’s NFL Draft stock and Tennessee’s other NFL hopefuls after Pro Day Tuesday at the Anderson Training Center in Knoxville:

Opening Statement

“Great day for our guys. It’s a lot of fun as a coach, our position coaches, everybody in the building that has been a part of their journey while they were playing for us. Get an opportunity to see them come and take the next step in their football journey. And you look at this group, a lot of them I’ve recruited, some of them were here Day 1 when I got into the team room. But you look at what they’ve done, putting the foundational pieces in of this program, the success that they’ve had, 30 wins over the last three years — Orange Bowl win, in the (College Football) Playoff this year. Speaks to who they are and what they’re about. And they did a great job representing themselves and our program today too. So really looking forward to see this journey continue for them and get to draft day, and ultimately training camp and the season.”

His pitch to NFL teams to take Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce in the first round

“Man, James is a smart player. Electric ability to rush the passer. Just seeing his growth on and off the field in three short years, his best is still in front of him. Dynamic playmaker.”

What about about Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson’s skillset translates to the next level   

“First of all, got great understanding of the game. Great vision. Pace as a running back, able to set up and use the blockers in front of him. Can make plays out of the backfield catching the football. He’s got returnability. His pass protection was really good for us. He’s going to continue to get better at that too. But he’s a guy that, in three short years, has made a lot of plays and that’s going to go with him forward. But his best football’s still out in front of him too. And a dynamic leader.”

What impressed him about Tennessee defensive lineman Omari Thomas doing some offensive line drills during Pro Day

“Omar looked pretty good. Omari has done such a great job on the defensive line. Been a huge part of the culture, the locker room and us building our program. Got a great future in front of him. But he does. Yeah, he, flipped over (to offensive line) for some of the drills today. Natural skill set there as well. Excited to see his career unfold.”

How importance it is to be able to use Tennessee players going to the NFL as a tool on the recruiting trail, even during the NIL era

“Every layer of the recruitment is still there. Relationships still matter. Development matters. Success on the field, wins matter. The ability for our players to go to the next level is still a huge part of the recruiting process. The landscape has changed because there’s another layer to the cake with NIL. But all those other things still matter, and they certainly matter to the guys that we’re going to recruit. So today, what our guys did, getting to draft day success, in the NFL, all that stuff still matters.”

James Pearce saying his intelligence has shined through during the NFL Draft interview process

“I think the versatility of what we do defensively — four down, three down, him playing to the boundary, to the field, off the ball as a linebacker — he’s been exposed to all of those things. James is extremely bright, retains information extremely quickly. That’s important at the next level. The versatility that he has, but he has been able to, in the meetings, at the combine, yesterday, he got a couple more (meetings). All all of those go into, you know, a franchise ultimately drafting a player and the success of the player at the next level. 

“And you can look a couple years in front of him at a guy like Byron Young, the success that he’s had. But James has all those traits, mentally, to be able to have a really smooth transition to the next level. I’ve gotten a lot of that feedback back while he is at the Combine from head coaches, NFL personnel, people certainly here over the last day and a half.”

How far James Pearce has come as a player on and off the field

“Man, young men, when they come into our building, they’re at varying levels of maturity. It’s our job to accelerate them as fast as the, as we can. James has done a really good job. The football understanding grew really quickly and has continued to grow, developing as a man, as a person. He’s done a really good job of continuing that too.”