ESPN Top 100: Tennessee’s James Pearce ranked the No. 1 player in college football

James Pearce is the No. 1 player in college football. ESPN on Thursday released its ranking of the top 100 players in college football this season , with Tennessee Football’s star pass rusher coming in at No. 1. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava was ranked No. 92.

“Entering his third season at Tennessee,” ESPN’s David Hale wrote , “the 6-5, 243-pound Pearce is the top pass rusher in the country despite having started only three career games. He’s projected as a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft and has 16.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in his first two seasons.

“Pearce was a first-team All-SEC selection last season by both the AP and coaches after ranking fifth nationally with 38 total pressures.”

James Pearce expected to be one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft

Pearce last season led Tennessee’s defense with 10.0 sacks during his breakout sophomore year. He also led the team in tackles for loss with 14.5 and added 16 quarterback hits. He played 462 snaps in 13 games, with 246 pass-rushing snaps and 182 snaps in run defense

He ended the season on a high note with a season-high four tackles, 1.5 sacks and added an interception returned 52 yards for a touchdown against Iowa in the 35-0 win in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Pearce has widely been projected as a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. An ESPN mock draft over the summer had Pearce at No. 4 overall to the Tennessee Titans.

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller wrote in January that Pearce would’ve been one of the top defensive players picked in the 2024 NFL Draft had he been draft eligible.

“Pearce is a 6-5, 242-pound blur rushing off the edge,” Miller wrote at the time . “With 43 pressures and 9.5 sacks in 2023, Pearce established himself as one of the best pass-rushers in the SEC.

“In fact, an AFC West scout who covers the conference told me Pearce would be the first defensive player drafted in the 2024 class if he were draft-eligible. Expectations are high for Pearce, but his speed and savvy pass-rush moves are worthy of the hype.”

ESPN on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava: ‘He looks like the total package’

Iamaleava this season takes over as the starting quarterback at long last. He was ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the On3 ratings in 2023, picking the Vols over Miami, Alabama, Georgia and others while headlining Tennessee’s recruiting class.

He appeared in five games last season and made his first career start in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa, combining for 178 total yards and four total touchdowns.

“A top-25 recruit in 2023,” Hale wrote in the ESPN ranking, “Iamaleava gave us a taste of what he’s capable of in 2023, completing 28 of 45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, scrambling nine times for 72 yards and rushing for three bowl TDs versus Iowa. He looks like the total package.”

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