Players who blocked Tennessee’s James Pearce in high school tell the tales, bask in his greatness

There’s a group chat of former offensive linemen who blocked James Pearce in high school in North Carolina, and they spend every Saturday gloating over their loose connection to the Tennessee football star.

They brag about that perfect block they landed on him in the state championship game. And they chide one other when their tall tales get out of hand.

Sometimes they do it from the stands at Tennessee football games.

When Pearce bull-rushed Alabama five-star tackle Kadyn Proctor and stripped the football from quarterback Jalen Milroe in the 2023 game, former high school tackle Cooper Sullivan perked up in the Alabama student section.

“I wasn’t happy about the fumble, but I made sure to boast to everyone there that I blocked James Pearce in high school,” Sullivan said. “Some people believed me. But others said I was full of crap and were like, ‘Oh, yeah, let me see the highlight reel.’ ”

Fortunately, Sullivan had the high school film bookmarked on YouTube on his phone to substantiate his claims.

At Tennessee’s game against Georgia in 2023, former high school guard Joey Olivieri was visiting Neyland Stadium thanks to a free ticket from a family friend in Knoxville.

When he blurted out that he blocked Pearce a few years earlier, skeptical Tennessee fans demanded proof.

“So at halftime, I’m pulling up pictures and watching my old game film with these random Tennessee fans,” said Olivieri, who’s now a student at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

“It was the coolest thing in the world. I mean who else can say they played against James Pearce and won the game?”

TENNESSEE RECRUITING How Vols regained foothold in North Carolina before playing NC State

Their group chat follows James Pearce at Tennessee

In 2021, Cardinal Gibbons beat Pearce’s Chambers High, the two-time defending state champion, in the Class 4A North Carolina state title game.

Pearce was going for a three-peat, but offensive linemen like Sullivan and Olivieri kept him in check enough for the win. Since then, all five starting linemen on that Cardinal Gibbons team have kept in touch through their shared experiences of trying to block Pearce, who they barely know.

When Pearce makes SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays or garners a national award, they share the news in their group chat.

When he plasters an SEC quarterback, they share an old photo from the Charlotte Observer that showed Pearce hitting their quarterback as they stared helplessly.

The group chat is all in good fun, littered with exaggeration and self-deprecating humor. But it’s based in a deep respect for Pearce, one of most talented pigskin products that North Carolina high school football has produced in years.

Pearce returns to his hometown on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) to lead No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) against No. 23 NC State (1-0) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

He was feared on the North Carolina high school football scene. But his legend has grown since he went to Tennessee and developed into a projected top-10 NFL Draft pick.

James Pearce hasn’t talked to media in a while

North Carolina is proud of Pearce, and the feeling is mutual.

“There are some dogs that come from that way (from North Carolina high school football),” Pearce said on a podcast sponsored by Volunteer Club, a name, image and likeness collective.

“We are known as the hoops state. But football is where it’s at too.”

Pearce has transformed from coveted recruit to All-SEC edge rusher to ESPN.com’s No. 1 ranked player in college football before the 2024 season. Teammates describe him as smart and personable. Coaches say he has a very high football IQ.

But Pearce has remained mostly silent as his stock has soared.

Pearce has declined all interview requests through UT for the past eight months with no specific reason provided. Media appearances are an expectation for college athletes but not an obligation.

In February, Pearce appeared on that podcast sponsored by the collective that pays him money for his NIL. Otherwise, he’s been quiet.

UT promoted Pearce’s scheduled appearance at its team media day on July 30, but he didn’t show up. And he has not been scheduled to appear at UT’s weekly player media availabilities this season.

Pearce’s last media appearance through UT was the Citrus Bowl postgame press conference on Jan. 1, following his dominant performance in a 35-0 win over Iowa. Perhaps he’ll break his silence if the Vols beat NC State on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Pearce’s play has done plenty of talking.

Last season, he led the SEC with 10 sacks. Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade of any defensive end in the conference. And some mock drafts project him as the first defensive player taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.

That success didn’t come overnight. But Pearce’s home state knew about his elite talent long ago.

James Pearce was a receiver first, then a pass rusher

Pearce finished all four high school seasons at Chambers in the North Carolina state championship game. He won it as a sophomore and junior and lost as a freshman and senior.

Pearce started out as a wide receiver because he was tall, athletic and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. But after moving to defensive end late in his sophomore season, he came off the bench to make three sacks in the state title game.

From then, he chased quarterbacks rather than catch passes from them.

“He was dominant by his junior year, and he could barely be blocked as a senior,” said Glenwood Ferebee, who coached Pearce at Chambers.

But those offensive linemen at Cardinal Gibbons with that group chat actually did block Pearce, at least for a few fleeting plays. In that 2021 state title game, they beat Chambers 14-2.

Pearce was as ferocious as ever in that game. But Cardinal Gibbons scored both touchdowns on passes where Sullivan, the left tackle, successfully blocked Pearce. Sullivan is happy to tell the story.

“I was kicking as fast I could to get back to be able to block him, and I stood strong for those couple of seconds,” said Sullivan, now a student at Alabama. “Those were my two best pass sets I’ve ever had.

“We’ve joked since that game that we had the best left side in the state because we blocked a legit first-round pick for those two plays.”

‘That dude will play on Sundays in a few years’

Pearce’s reputation as a future pro was cemented long before NFL scouts took notice. High school coaches, teammates and opponents in North Carolina predicted it years ago.

“During his sophomore year, (Pearce) was a little immature. We used to bump heads and get into it, so I threatened to cut him,” Ferebee said. “Then I told him, ‘James, you have a chance to be a first-round draft pick if you get yourself together.’ And I believed that.

“A couple of months ago, I reminded him about that conversation and how it’s coming to fruition.”

In Week 1 of Pearce’s senior season, he faced the same Cardinal Gibbons team that would beat him in the state title game later that year.

In that first matchup, Pearce dominated. He blew past the offensive linemen, forced turnovers and sacked the Cardinal Gibbons quarterback twice on the final drive to clinch the 35-29 victory.

Cardinal Gibbons coach Steven Wright met Pearce in the handshake line.

“I grabbed him and said, ‘You’re the most talented high school football player I’ve ever seen. Please make wise choices because you can play in the NFL one day,’ ” Wright recalls.

During film session the next morning, Wright told his offensive linemen to hold their head high despite the havoc that Pearce had caused.

“Our coaches told us not to worry,” Sullivan said. “That wasn’t a normal high school football player. That dude will play on Sundays in a few years.”

How Vols got James Pearce to Tennessee

Pearce was an impactful player on a loaded high school team.

NC State wide receiver KC Concepcion, the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year, and running back Hollywood Smothers were Pearce’s high school teammates. They’ll face him on Saturday.

His other teammates on that 2021 Chambers squad included Wake Forest defensive lineman Jalen Swindell, Indiana safety Dontrae Henderson, Troy cornerback Rondell Carter, James Madison safety KJ Flowe, William & Mary receiver Armon Wright and former Tennessee walk-on linebacker Mekhi Bigelow, who transferred to North Carolina Central.

Even surrounded by that talent, Pearce’s recruiting got off to a slow start. He didn’t receive a scholarship offer until late in his junior year.

“I didn’t think it took off the way that it should have because he didn’t really hear from the Alabamas and the Georgias at first,” Ferebee said. “South Carolina and Missouri wanted him bad, but North Carolina didn’t pursue him. So Tennessee got a steal.”

But by the end of his senior season, Pearce’s 247Sports Composite rating had climbed to four stars. Georgia, Florida and others tried for a late push to land him, but he signed with Tennessee.

He was perfect for the Vols’ Leo position, what they call their weakside edge rusher.

“His length, his short area quickness, his long speed – those were all raw traits that we really liked,” UT coach Josh Heupel said. “Through the recruiting process, we learned just how competitive he is. And what people probably don’t understand about James is how high of a football IQ that he has.

“We felt like he had an opportunity to develop into a really good football player.”

Pearce could lead the Vols in a College Football Playoff chase and be a first-round pick. If so, there will be some old high school foes celebrating his success and basking in their association.

“It’s really cool to say that we played against big names like him, but it’s even cooler to see that North Carolina kids are getting it done,” Olivieri said.

“We blocked James Pearce. Oh my gosh, we’re going to talk about that forever.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.