Nico Iamaleava also cracked the top 100.
ESPN is out today with their top 100 college football players for the upcoming 2024 season, and a Tennessee Volunteer leads the way. Tennessee’s new signal caller, Nico Iamaleava, also cracked the list despite only starting one game last season.
92. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava
A top-25 recruit in 2023, Iamaleava gave us a taste of what he’s capable of in 2023, completing 28 of 45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, scrambling nine times for 72 yards and rushing for three bowl TDs versus Iowa. He looks like the total package. (ESPN)
The five-star prospect has all the makings of Josh Heupel’s next quarterback success story. The physical tools — arm and athleticism — and the leadership traits we’ve heard about give Tennessee some big upside this season. It’s not all that dramatic to say Iamaleava holds the keys to the Vols’ season.
You know quarterbacks are going to produce in Heupel’s system, hence the hype entering the fall.
1. Edge James Pearce
Entering his third season at Tennessee, the 6-5, 243-pound Pearce is the top pass rusher in the country despite having started only three career games. He’s projected as a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft and has 16.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in his first two seasons. Pearce was a first-team All-SEC selection last season by both the AP and coaches after ranking fifth nationally with 38 total pressures. (ESPN)
Pearce edges out the likes of Mason Graham, Travis Hunter, Will Johnson and Luther Burden for the top spot in the rankings.
Another former five-star prospect, Pearce exploded onto the scene as a sophomore. The lanky, twitched-up edge rusher dismantled Virginia to open the season, and never really let up. His best performance came against South Carolina last season where he was nearly an one-man wrecking crew, getting after Spencer Rattler all night long.
In total, Pearce was credited with 9.5 sacks on the year, but his pressures made the Tennessee defense go. He put the cherry on top of his breakout season in the Citrus Bowl, taking an interception back for six.
And now the pressure is on. Pearce is being projected as a top five pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Another step forward this fall, and he can make that a reality.
View the entire list from ESPN here.