James Pearce Jr. Explains When He Exactly Realized He Was “Bigger & Better” Than Other Kids

James Pearce Jr., an edge rusher at the University of Tennessee, is projected to go as high as 11th overall. His numbers speak for themselves. He recorded 19.5 sacks in three years at the school, adding in three forced fumbles and a pick-six. He’s a game-wrecker who will be wreaking havoc in the NFL soon.

On Wednesday, Pearce joined PFT Live with Chris Simms and Mike Florio as the two provide in-depth coverage ahead of the NFL Combine. They’ve sat down with many different prospects and gotten to know them better in brief interviews. During Pearce’s interview, Florio asked what age he realized he was going to be “bigger and better” than the other kids around him.

“Probably when I played football around age 6 or 7,” Pearce responded. “6, I picked it up. 7, I ain’t take my hands off of it.”

It’s an early age to recognize how much better he was than the rest, but Pearce seems like a confident guy. Standing 6 foot 5, 243 pounds, projecting to get drafted to the 49ers- he should be confident. He then began to talk about what positions he played in PeeWee and how he transitioned to a full-time edge role by high school.

“Running back, and I still played edge, still played d-line,” Pearce said. Florio then assumed he scored every time he touched the ball, to which he said, “1000 percent.”

Hard to imagine any kid who wanted to tackle Pearce for the size he was at his age. It sounds like PeeWee was a ton of fun for him. Running through and over defense as a running back, then racking up sacks and tackles for loss as a defensive lineman.

But there eventually came a day when Pearce had to choose one or the other. He said once he got to high school, everything was more organized, and the coaches made him choose between playing defense or offense. Undecided and standing in the middle, he ultimately realized that he wanted to be an edge rusher because he wanted to make the action happen. Rather than waiting for the action to come to him.

“I got tired of waiting for the ball, I didn’t want to wait for the ball. I wanted to go get it.”

Pearce’s character concerns

The only thing that is going to hinder the stock of Pearce is his character. He reportedly has some anger issues, which has led some teams to completely remove him from their draft boards. A former high school teammate of Pearce went online and shared that “he is actually crazy.” Later he also clarified that he isn’t a scout and wasn’t trying to harm his draft stock. Just simply pointed out that his former teammate from high school was “a little crazy”.

But that’s not the only mark on Pearce’s record. He was busted for going 63 mph in a 35 mph zone while driving in North Carolina in 2023. Upon being stopped, the officers realized his license was suspended. Pearce faced multiple charges, but all were reportedly dropped less than two weeks later.

However, former Tennessee quarterback, Erik Ainge, came to the defense of Pearce this past week. Penning on Twitter, “James Pearce doesn’t want to talk to the media. Or me. Or you. Dude just wants to play football and he’s elite at it. If I’m an NFL team, sign me up for the baller that just loves football. People calling that “character” issues.”

As long as Pearce can stay out of legal trouble, he should be just fine. Some NFL teams welcome players with “bad character” with open arms. Football is a vicious sport that naturally creates intense personalities. George Kittle is a great example of a guy who seems intense but applies it correctly on the playing field. He screams at himself to get amped up and takes his anger out on the opposing team. We’ll see if Pearce can find a way to apply his personality in the game in a similar way.