Defensive line, Tennessee, 2022–24
James Pearce Jr.
- Number
- No. 27
- Height
- 6′5″
- Weight
- 243 lb
- Class (2024)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Charlotte, NC
- Born
- Oct 12, 2003
Wikipedia readers: about 13,240 a month over the past year
James Pearce Jr. played defensive line at Tennessee (2022–24). The Atlanta Falcons took Pearce in the first round, No. 26 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
9tackles, career highat Arkansas, 20242sacks, career highthree times; last vs. UTEP, 2024Honors
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2024 Tennessee 12 games, 38 tackles, 7.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 | vs. NC State | W 51–10 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | vs. Kent State | W 71–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | at Oklahoma | W 25–15 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | at Arkansas | L 14–19 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Florida | W 23–17 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | vs. Alabama | W 24–17 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | vs. Kentucky | W 28–18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 9 | vs. Mississippi State | W 33–14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | at Georgia | L 17–31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | vs. UTEP | W 56–0 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | at Vanderbilt | W 36–23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 21 ✦ | at Ohio State | L 17–42 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 Tennessee 12 games, 27 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Virginia | W 49–13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Austin Peay | W 30–13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 16 | atFlorida | L 16–29 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs. UTSA | W 45–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | vs. South Carolina | W 41–20 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | vs. Texas A&M | W 20–13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | atAlabama | L 20–34 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | atKentucky | W 33–27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | at Missouri | L 7–36 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | vs.Georgia | L 10–38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Vanderbilt | W 48–24 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. Iowa | W 35–0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2022 Tennessee 4 games, 5 tackles, 2 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | at Pittsburgh | W 34–27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Akron | W 63–6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | vs. UT Martin | W 65–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | vs.Missouri | W 66–24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2025 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′5¼″ |
| Weight | 245 lb |
| Arm length | 32¾″ |
| Hand size | 10″ |
| Wingspan | 80⅞″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.47 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.56 sW |
| Vertical jump | 31″ |
| Broad jump | 10′3″ |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
1 season, 15 games with a stat; latest team: Atlanta Falcons.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Atlanta Falcons | 15 | 26 | 10.5 | 0 |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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