Tennessee Vols' James Pearce, Jr. leads all pass rushers in crucial stat amid quietly impressive season

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.

Related: Paul Finebaum explains why he believes Alabama-Tennessee will be more important than Georgia-Texas on Saturday