Tennessee’s star pass rusher will turn pro.
Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce took things to the deadline, but his decision is in — he’s turning pro. Pearce made the announcement on Instagram late on Wednesday night, announcing his intentions to head to the NFL.
The Charlotte, North Carolina native oozes NFL potential and was thought of as a potential top five pick coming into the 2024 season. Pearce received a lot of attention from opposing teams, forcing schemes to take note and gameplan for his fastball off the edge. Those double teams and chips caused a dip in production, but Pearce still got home for 7.5 sacks on the season. More notably, Pearce racked up 43 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
Pearce finishes his career with 29.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks. He’s expected to be picked somewhere in the middle of the first round this April, though his stock could certainly rise with a strong NFL Combine performance.
Tennessee has had only one first round pick, Darnell Wright, in the Josh Heupel era to this point. Pearce should become the second.
For the Volunteers, it’s next man up — and Tennessee has the depth chart ready. Joshua Josephs came on strong this season and will step up a notch on the depth chart. Talented players like Caleb Herring and Jordan Ross are on the depth chart behind him and will likely move heavily into the rotation this fall.