Tennessee had two defensive players honored by the SEC following the Vols’ 23-17 win over Florida in overtime.
Junior edge rusher James Pearce Jr., was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week. Rookie defensive back Boo Carter earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors. The latest award is nothing new for Pearce.
The junior has now won SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week three times in his career. The Reese’s Senior Bowl also named Pearce its co-defensive player of the week on Monday morning.
Pearce turned in a game-changing play against the Gators on Saturday in which he striped the ball from Florida quarterback Graham Mertz as he was pushing towards the end zone for touchdown. Pearce registered seven tackles, 1/2 a sack, one tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery against Florida.
The preseason first-team All-American took the ball from Mertz inside the Tennessee one-yard line as the Gators were about to go up 10-0 before they were denied just inches from the goal line. Pearce forced the fumble then recovered it to keep the Vols within one score of the Gators just when it seemed like Florida had all the momentum in the game.
Pearce finished the Florida game with two QB pressures according to Pro Football Focus. His sack came on a critical third down in the fourth quarter with the Gators driving.
Carter, who is from Chattanooga, finished the Florida game with seven tackles, one sack for a loss of 10 yards, 1 1/2-tackles for a loss of 11 yards and one quarterback hurry on Saturday. Those were all career highs for the freshman.
