James Pearce Jr and Squirrel White earn spot on College Football Freaks List

Tennessee football has brought in some star-studded talent on both sides of the ball throughout Josh Heupel's tenure as the Vols' football coach. Two of those players are James Pearce Jr. and Squirrel White. Both are Juniors and made Bruce Feldman's 101 College Football Freaks list.

The Athletic's Feldman creates his annual list of the country's most scary and dominant players, and Tennessee has two players on this year's list. 

Pearce earned a spot in the top 20 at No. 19. The 6-foot-five, 244-pound edge rusher made a name for himself across the country last year, finishing the season with 28 tackles, ten sacks, and two forced fumbles. 

"The SEC's top returning pass rusher wasn't listed as one of the ten fastest Vols in the EA Sports College Football 25 video game, but we would put him there after his dazzling display in the Citrus Bowl," Feldman wrote. "Pearce clocked 23 mph on a pick-six against Iowa, turning in one of the fastest GPS measurements of any FBS play all season.

One of his coaches told me that the 6-5, 245-pound junior is a legitimate 4.4 40 threat. According to PFF, Pearce was the SEC's highest-graded defensive end last year at 90.9. He tied for the SEC lead in sacks (10) and was second in tackles for loss (14.5); he's the SEC's returning statistical leader in both of those. He had 16 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

White earned a spot at No. 57. The 5-foot-10, 167-pound slot receiver has elite speed, which allows him to make big plays at any point in the game. He finished his sophomore season with 67 receptions for 803 yards and two touchdowns. 

"The 5-10, 165-pound junior, No. 64 on our list in 2023, is one of the fastest players in the game," Feldman wrote. "White has been clocked at 23.4 mph and has a 40.6-inch vertical jump. He has run a 1.50-second 10-yard split. Last year, White had 67 catches for 803 yards and averaged 12.0 yards per catch; for his career, he has nine catches of 40-plus yards, six catches of 50-plus yards, and three receptions of 60-plus yards."

Tennessee has reloaded its roster for the 2024 season and is prepared to compete at the top of the SEC with redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava running the offense. The Vols kick off the season on August 31 against Chattanooga.