Tennessee Volunteer edge rusher James Pearce has declared for the NFL draft.

The offseason has officially arrived for the Tennessee Volunteers after their loss to Ohio State in the playoffs, and that means NFL draft declarations are starting to fire off. The latest name to do so is edge rusher James Pearce, who has elected to forgo his senior season and take his talents to the professional level.

Pearce was a phenomenal player for the Volunteers during his three year career. In three seasons, he had 19.5 sacks, 30 tackles for loss and 71 total tackles. He was first team All-SEC in both 2023 and 2024 in the coaches poll and 1st-team All-SEC in 2023 according to the AP. He came into the 2024 season as a projected top 10 pick and is it is likely that he will end up being drafted within the top-15 in the first round.

The former five-star defensive lineman lived up to the hype coming of high school and was a big time contributor for Tennessee on defense. ESPN tabbed him as the No. 1 player in college football coming into the 2024 season and after finishing with 7.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 38 total tackles, he looks poised to take on the NFL ranks in the coming year.