University of Tennessee Athletics
2024 Football Roster
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Pearce Jr., James
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Jersey Number 27
James Pearce Jr.
- Position:
- DL
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-5 / 243
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Charlotte, N.C.
- High School:
- Chambers
Bio
CAREER HONORS
2024 Bednarik Award Semifinalist2024 Lombardi Award Semifinalist
2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalist
2024 All-SEC First Team (Coaches)
2024 All-SEC Second Team (AP)
SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week (vs. Florida, 10/14/24; vs. Texas A&M, 10/16/23; vs. South Carolina, 10/2/23)
Reese's Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Florida, 10/14/24)
2023 All-SEC First Team (AP, Coaches)
CAREER
Elite edge rusher with freakish explosiveness and instincts who played three seasons for the Vols … Elected to forgo his senior season and declared for the 2025 NFL Draft … Entered the 2024 season as the No. 1 player in the country by On3 and ESPN … Made his presence known as a consistent disruptor on the line and was a two-time first-team All-SEC recipient … Became the first UT defensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team All-SEC honors since College Football Hall of Famer John Henderson from 2000-01 … Owned 71 tackles (44 solo), 29.5 tackles for a loss of 148 yards, 19.5 sacks for a loss of 128 yards, 27 QB hurries, one interception for a touchdown, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery … His 19.5 career sacks tied with Darrell Taylor (2016-19) for the 10th-most in school history ... According to PFF, generated 113 QB pressures in three seasons at Tennessee ... Played in 39 career games with 12 starts.2024 - JUNIOR
Tennessee’s starting LEO in nine of 13 games who was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year ... Played in all 13 games during another All-SEC campaign … According to PFF, generated 55 total pressures, which was second in the SEC and 12th in the FBS among edge rushers … Credited with 38 total tackles – 23 solo – to go along with a team-high 13 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and 10 QB hurries ... Ranked 10th in the SEC in both tackles for loss and sacks … Registered at least a half-TFL in eight straight games, spanning Sept. 21 at Oklahoma through Nov. 23 vs. UTEP ... Collected three tackles and two tackles for loss in CFP First Round Game at national champion Ohio State (12/21) in his final game … Led the Vols' shutout effort vs. UTEP (11/23) with a career-best two sacks and 2.5 TFLs in the victory ... Started at LEO and had three solo tackles with one TFL at No. 12 Georgia (11/16) ... Notched four total tackles, including a solo sack for a loss of four yards in the fourth quarter, in UT’s victory over Mississippi State (11/9) ... Posted a monster solo sack for a 9-yard loss in win over Kentucky (11/2) and added a QB hurry to his season tally ... Took over the game in victory over rival No. 7 Alabama (10/19), logging three tackles, 1.5 sacks and three QB hurries against the Tide, including a crucial fourth-quarter sack ... According to PFF, tallied a season-high 10 pressures against the Crimson Tide … Logged seven tackles with one TFL and a half-sack in addition to a pivotal forced fumble and recovery at the goal line in overtime win vs. Florida (10/12) ... Impacted the game with a career-high nine tackles, two TFLs, one sack and one pass breakup at Arkansas (10/5) ... Posted two total tackles, including a half-sack for a loss of eight yards in the win at No. 15 Oklahoma (9/21) ... Led the Vols with three QB hurries in a dominant 71-0 victory over Kent State (9/14) ... Posted a half-tackle for loss in start vs. No. 24 NC State (9/7) along with two QB hurries.2023 - SOPHOMORE
Proved to be the top edge rusher in the SEC in just his second season at the college level … Earned first-team All-SEC recognition from both the Associated Press and Coaches … Played in all 13 games with three starts … Starts came vs. Iowa in the Citrus Bowl (1/1), at Mizzou (11/11) and vs. Vanderbilt (11/25) … Registered 28 tackles (18 solo), 14.5 tackles for a loss of 71 yards, 10 sacks for a loss of 59 yards, 16 QB hurries, one interception for a touchdown, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles … Tied for the SEC lead in sacks and ranked second in the league in tackles for loss … According to PFF, was the SEC’s highest graded defensive end at 90.9, which also ranked fourth in the FBS ... Owned a 21.3 percent pressure rate and 92.4 pass-rush grade, which both ranked third in the nation … Posted more than one TFL in seven games, including a combined 4.5 in the final four games of the year ... Dominated the Citrus Bowl win over No. 17 Iowa (1/1) in just his third career start … Tallied four tackles, 1.5 sacks for a loss of eight yards, one QB hurry and returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the finishing touches on the victory over the Hawkeyes … Logged three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and two QB hurries in a start in the regular season finale vs. Vanderbilt (11/25) ... Logged three tackles vs. No. 1 Georgia (11/18) ... Made his first career start (LEO) at No. 14 Missouri (11/11) and finished the game with one sack and 1.5 TFLs ... Posted one tackle, a pass breakup and a pair of QB hurries in road win at Kentucky (10/28) ... Notched his first career forced fumble with a strip sack at No. 11/8 Alabama (10/21) and finished the game with two tackles ... Extremely disruptive in Tennessee’s win over Texas A&M (10/14), finishing with three tackles, two TFLs, one sack and a career-best five QB hurries ... Earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after a dominant performance vs. South Carolina (9/30), registering three tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and two QB hurries ... Posted one quarterback hurry in victory over UTSA (9/23) ... Played 37 defensive snaps at Florida (9/16) and led the Vols with 2.0 tackles for loss ... Logged a 7-yard sack and a quarterback hurry in home opener vs. Austin Peay (9/9) ... Made his presence felt in the season opener vs. Virginia (9/2) with a pair of sacks in the first half, both coming on third down and forcing UVA punts ... Also added a pair of QB hurries and finished with three total tackles in win over the Cavaliers.2022 - FRESHMAN
Played in all 13 games during his true freshman season, accumulating five tackles, two tackles for loss and a pair of sacks … Posted a sack in the 2022 home finale against Missouri (11/12) … Logged a tackle and a QB hurry on Homecoming against UT Martin (10/22) … Recorded his first career-multi-tackle game against Akron (9/17) and had a sack early in the fourth quarter … Picked up his first career tackle at No. 17 Pitt (9/10) … Made his collegiate debut against Ball State (9/1) in the 2022 season opener.HIGH SCHOOL
A five-star defensive line prospect out of Charlotte, North Carolina … Enrolled at Tennessee in June 2022 … Rated a five-star prospect, the No. 11 player in the 2022 class and the top player from North Carolina by On3.com ... Also rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com … The top player in the state of North Carolina and sixth-best edge rusher according to On3.com … Selected to the 2021 Carolina Bowl All-Star Game … Second-team All-State selection by HighSchoolOT.com as a junior in 2020 … Helped lead Chambers High School to four consecutive North Carolina Class 4A State Championship games, including back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020 … Turned heads as a senior with 14.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two safeties and two interceptions … Chose Tennessee over 18 other offers, 13 from Power 5 schools … Coached by Glenwood Ferebee, a former player at Liberty and offensive coordinator at Howard.PERSONAL
Full name is James Cecil Pearce Jr. … Born on Oct. 12, 2003 … Majoring in sociology … Twitter handle is @JamesPearceJr10 … Instagram handle is @tenn.jamessFB | Kelsey Pope Press Conference (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Arion Carter Media Availability (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Sam Pendleton Media Availability (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Braylon Staley Media Availability (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
