Tennessee has had some standouts in their defensive front seven over the years. However, few have had the true potential that rising junior defensive end James Pearce, Jr. possesses.
The 6'5", 242-pound defender from Charlotte, North Carolina (Chambers High School) proved to be one of the most explosive defensive players in the country last year. Earning first-team All-SEC honors, Pearce finished with 10 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.
His performance in the Citrus Bowl was nothing short of incredible.
When asked at his press conference on Monday about how Pearce will be able to handle additional attention in 2024, Josh Heupel explained that he had already been seeing it last season.
"He did see a bunch of attention [last year]. That could be sliding, that could be chipping. Some of the route structures, getting the ball out quickly, out on the perimeter. That was part of it."
However, per Heupel, Pearce still has room to improve to realize his full potential on the field. And him doing so is going to provide opportunities to those around him.
"At the end of the day, any unit - it can't just be one guy - James needs to grow as a player, too, and he would stand up here and tell you that as well. There [are]] things that he's working on for him to become his best and take his game to another level.
"But you've got to have guys around you, too. That way, if they're trying to slide to one, somebody else has got a one-on-one that they can [go] win, too, and bring some balance to what you're doing up front. Then for us, obviously having the ability to move him around will be a part of it as well."
There's a lot of excitement about what Tennessee can accomplish in year four under Heupel in 2024. That was evident in the Citrus Bowl with Tennessee's two stars on each side of the ball in Nico Iamaleava and Pearce.
And if Pearce can find a way to shift his game up another gear, the entire defense should take a big step forward as a result.
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