The Volunteer State's football program shone brightly during the 2024 SEC Media Days, as Tennessee's Cooper Mays and James Pearce Jr. scooped up first team All-SEC preseason honors. Mays, a senior center, and Pearce Jr., a junior edge rusher, didn't just clinch positions on the conference's first team but also nailed down spots as preseason First Team All-Americans according to the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as reportewd by WVLT.
Joining an elite group that includes powerhouses like Alabama and Georgia, Tennessee prides itself on having a first-team luminary on either side of the scrimmage line the media roundup at SEC Media Days, in Dallas, indicated that Mays enters his final collegiate year after a powerhouse performance that did not involve giving up a sack in his last 14 games, as asserted by the team's own listing at UTSports.
Pearce, on his end, is a beacon of havoc for opposing offenses, having amassed 16.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and a variety of quarterback disruptions over his tenure at Tennessee, WJHL highlighted Pearce's attraction for NFL scouts following a ten-sack season in 2024. The accolades for both players reflect their pivotal roles in a program preparing to embark on preseason practices at the end of July.
Notably, despite their individuals' success, the Vols find themselves projected in the sardine-can middle at No.7 of the 16-team conference race, a suspicion that might just rile up a squad not lacking in talent or drive; especially as they approach preseason drills slated to begin July 31, a date when the cleats hit the practice turf with possibly more to prove, WVLT indicated their take on these external expectations.
As the countdown to kickoff wanes, Tennessee's Mays and Pearce Jr. are not just names penciled in by the media; they are testament to a program whose ambition is clearly set beyond just making a dent in the SEC—it's about leaving an enduring mark.
