Tennessee’s best player isn’t who you think he is. He’s better.
You think EDGE rusher James Pearce is just a great athlete. Well, that’s pretty evident by his play last season and his prediction by some as the overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, there’s something you don’t know about the preseason All-American from Charlotte, N.C.
“What people probably don’t understand about James is how smart or how high of a football IQ he has,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “With us, that position moves around within the structure of our defenses. He handles it really well. He has become a guy that really does a great job in helping the young guys, the new guys inside of our program in particular at his position, grow in what it means to play within the scope of our defense.
“So I’m really proud of the steps that he has taken and need him to go play well this Saturday.”
That may not exactly be true. The Vols could probably beat Chattanooga if Pearce decided to take a game off. However, that’s certainly not going to happen considering Pearce is one of the most competitive and intense players on Tennessee’s football team.
“Just his length and explosiveness, his short-area quickness, his long speed, were all raw traits that we really liked,” Heupel said when asked about Pearce and why the Vols recruited him in the first place. “As we got to know him through the recruiting process, just how competitive he is in his makeup. (We) felt like he was somebody that had an opportunity to really develop and grow into a really good football player. And James has grown so much off the field, on the field, his work capacity, how he approaches every day.”
That’s not good for the Mocs as Pearce may be the greatest example of the difference in talent between the UT in Knoxville and the one in Chattanooga. Case in point: Pearce is only one of 15 players to reach a 23-MPH gallop last season. Video evidence provided below.
There is simply no one on Chattanooga’s team – or likely any Div.-II roster – that is as athletic as Pearce. Here’s another thought to consider when thinking about what Pearce can do this season. Pearce only started three games last season, which happened to be three of the last four. That means Tennessee’s coaches continued to gain trust in the sophomore. Yes, Pearce was just a sophomore last season despite being the SEC’s highest-graded defensive end by Pro Football Focus.
Here’s another stat that might just blow your mind. Pearce pressured opposing quarterbacks last season on 21-percent of pass plays. In other words, give Pearce five passing plays and he’s going to get in the backfield one in five of those times. And that was just as an underclassmen.
