James Pearce Has Become an Elite SEC Edge Rusher
With the Vols entering the bye week with a 4-1 record, they have started the season off right. A huge part of this has been the pressure the Vols have gotten on opposing quarterbacks. What players have led the charge in regard to this battle at the line of scrimmage? James Pearce is most certainly one of them. He has been a machine on the field all season for Tennessee and is garnering some national attention.
Thus far in the 2023 season, Pearce has 10 tackles and five sacks on the year. Two of the five sacks came in the Vols' latest win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. And out of the ten tackles, seven have been in the opposing team's backfield for a loss of yardage. After the South Carolina game, Pearce spoke about his performance and went into how he gets into opposing backfields.
"It all started from the "get off." They have a choice of either to get out there with me or sit and stay inside. I simply just read and react off of that." Pearce has blown past his numbers from the 2022 season just five games into 2023. He has clearly become more explosive and is a lethal weapon for Tennessee off of the edge. He seems to make it look flawlessly easy getting past the big offensive linemen he faces week in and week out.
The Vols have some tough offenses in Texas A&M and Kentucky coming up within the next three weeks. They both are in the top half of the SEC in rushing offense rating. The pressure from Pearce will be big in disrupting that tough pair of rushing attacks the Vols will have to face. If he can find a way to hinder it, he puts Tennessee in a good spot as he has all season.
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