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Tennessee Vols DE James Pearce, Jr. received a lot of love this offseason. The talented edge rusher received a number of first round mock drafts, with some projecting him as the #1 overall pick. That's about as high a praise as a college player can get.
That being said, it's not been an explosive season thus far on the stat sheet for Pearce, Jr. Through six games, he's totaled 19 tackles with 2 sacks, and a forced fumble and recovery. Those aren't numbers that jump off the sheet and say impact.
However, there is another stat that does exactly that, and Pearce, Jr is right at the top of the list in that regard. According to Pro Football Focus, Pearce, Jr's 21.63% pressure rate is tops in all of college football among defensive lineman and edge rushers.
Pressures, as NFL coaches have mentioned before, are often just as valuable as sacks. They can draw holding penalties. They can cause quarterbacks to scramble and give up on plays, or throw the ball away, or even toss up passes that are picked off. They have a very valuable aspect that isn't proper accredited in more mainstream and simplified stats.
And it's not hard to understand why Pearce, Jr.'s season might have fallen out of the public light a little bit: the entire unit has been outstanding. Sometimes a player can gain attention because he's the star of a team without much else around him, but that's far from the case with Pearce, Jr. this season. Elijah Simmons, Tyree West, Bryson Eason, and the rest of the group have been difference makers this season.
But rest assured, Pearce, Jr's production hasn't been lost by anyone in the NFL spectrum. Surely scouts have seen his production and his esteem and value among NFL front offices is likely as strong as it was last year.
But hey, it surely wouldn't hurt his stock if he manages to drag down Jalen Milroe in the backfield a couple of times on Saturday afternoon when the Vols and Alabama Crimson Tide clash in Knoxville.
More must-reads:
- How ESPN plans to honor Lee Corso before final 'College GameDay'
- Archie Manning drops bombshell prediction on Texas QB grandson
- The '2024-25 NFL passing-yard leaders' quiz
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How ESPN plans to honor Lee Corso before final 'College GameDay'
Lee Corso is a college football legend, and his legacy on ESPN's "College GameDay" is rich and hard to top. Corso has been one of the premier college football analysts in the nation for nearly 40 years. He's been one of the "talking heads" on ESPN's "College GameDay" for 38 years, but his impact on college football is even deeper than that. Corso's last broadcast will be on Saturday, Aug. 30, from Columbus, Ohio, as "GameDay" prepares for the season-opening clash between Texas and Ohio State. Corso, 90, will be doing his final "headgear pick," which has become an iconic part of Saturday mornings for generations of college football fans. He'll then be signing off and saying goodbye to the show he's been a part of since 1987. On Thursday, ESPN announced that on the Friday evening before Corso's last show, it will air a one-hour special dedicated to Corso called "Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special." That will air on Friday, Aug. 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, and it will re-air on ESPN2 on Saturday morning. "The primetime special will highlight Corso’s extraordinary life, his larger-than-life personality and the immeasurable impact he has had on college football as a player, coach and broadcaster," the press release stated. There will be many appearances in the special from notable names who have worked alongside Corso during his legendary career. That list includes Rece Davis, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Tim Brando, Chris Fallica and Maria Taylor, but there will also be appearances from notable college football coaches like Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney. Corso may be best known for his time on "GameDay," but he impacted college football in many ways outside of being a broadcaster. He was a cornerback at Florida State from 1953 to 1957, and he at one time held the school record for most career interceptions with 14. Corso was then a college head coach for nearly three decades with stops at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois. He's made a massive mark on the sport and will be irreplaceable in the eyes of many college football fans for years to come.
Chargers star's brutal injury shows why players should hold out with new contracts on line
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday afternoon with what turned out to be a significant injury. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's a massive blow to the team's offensive line and offense as a whole. It also serves as a harsh reminder as to why players will always — and should always — act on the side of caution when it comes to participating in training camp when they are seeking a new contract. In Slater's case, he's a lucky one because he just agreed to a new four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million in guarantees days before the injury happened. That contract was signed after he did not participate in some of the team's early training-camp practice sessions. If Slater had participated early on and had this injury happen before he was able to get his new deal signed, it would have been a devastating blow in his quest to get that pay day. Not only would the Chargers have had no incentive to pay him this season, but there is no guarantee he would have ever received that sort of contract in the future. Fans might not like the idea of a hold-out or hold-in, but you have to look at it from the perspective of the player. They have a very limited time to earn top dollar in the NFL, and there are never any guarantees. The hold-out/hold-in approach is not only a way to put pressure on the team to pay them, but it's also a matter of self-preservation. Football is a violent game. It's a physical game. It's a collision game. Injuries are always going to be a part of that. But injuries happen with much greater frequency early in the season, and especially in training camp, due to the fact that players are still working their way back into game shape and going through more intense and physical practices than they do at any point during the season. It's a dangerous time for them in terms of injuries, and that should not be overlooked when it comes to contract talks. Players have short careers and even less time to set themselves up financially. They should not be willing to take unnecessary risks when it comes to their earning power. The Slater situation shows just how delicate all of it is.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
'Clearly separated himself': Why one QB is winning Browns' competition
Recent reports have indicated that veteran Joe Flacco holds a significant lead in the Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition over Kenny Pickett, 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders. For an article published on Wednesday, Lance Reisland of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explained why Flacco "has clearly separated himself from the quarterback competition" heading into the Browns' preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Friday. "His performance is rooted in elite mechanical consistency in his footwork, balance and ability to transfer weight efficiently through his throws," Reisland said about Flacco. "These traits have allowed him to remain composed under pressure, stay on time through full field progression reads, and consistently deliver accurate passes at all three levels of the field." During the 2023 season, Flacco won four of five starts while playing under head coach Kevin Stefanski to guide the Browns to a playoff berth. None of Cleveland's other active quarterbacks has ever taken a meaningful in-game snap in Stefanski's offense. Gabriel seemingly won't be ready for regular-season action anytime soon, and Pickett missed a handful of practice days while dealing with a hamstring injury. Sanders reportedly will start against Carolina, but he's Cleveland's fourth option at the position. Even if he looks like a revelation on Friday night, all signs point to Stefanski going with Flacco for Cleveland's Week 1 game against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. As of Wednesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook had Flacco as a -265 betting favorite to get the nod for the Cincinnati matchup. "Flacco’s blend of polish, poise and veteran field-command paired with his ability to operate from under center or in shotgun, against pressure or in structure, makes him the clear best option to start Week 1," Reisland continued. "He’s executing with rhythm and timing, manipulating coverages and elevating the offense every time he’s under center. He looks fully prepared to lead this team on day one." While that doesn't necessarily mean Flacco will start when Cleveland faces the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 on Sept. 14, it appears the Browns' QB1 gig is his to lose.
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