The offseason is just beginning but that doesn’t make it too early to start making predictions for the 2024 college football season. It just makes it “way-too-early” predictions season. The latest is ESPN’s way-too-early All-American predictions for the 2024 season.
Tennessee had two players land on the pair of preseason All-American teams. Defensive end James Pearce Jr. landed on the first team while center Cooper Mays landed on the second team.
Pearce was the breakout star of Tennessee football’s 2023 season. The true sophomore totaled 27 tackles and 9.5 sacks— the program’s best mark since Derek Barnett in 2016. The quick twitch edge rusher took over in Tennessee’s wins over South Carolina, Texas A&M and Iowa.
“Pearce tied for the SEC sacks lead last season with Dallas Turner and Nathaniel Watson and returns for his junior season as one of the top NFL draft prospects in the league,” ESPN’s Chris Lowe wrote. “The 6-5, 242-pound Pearce has terrific burst off the edge and is a nightmare for any tackle to block. He was tied for fifth nationally last season with 38 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.”
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Mays was the second team center coming in behind Alabama’s Parker Brailsford. The Knoxville native has been the Vols’ starting center since 2021 and has performed at a high level. Mays missed the first month of the 2023 season with a sports hernia and Tennessee’s offense line was definitively better after he returned to the field.
The veteran center deciding to return to Tennessee for his super senior season was a major win for Josh Heupel and his staff this offseason and helps solidify the offensive line in front of Nico Iamaleava.
Tennessee is one of nine SEC teams that has a player land on one of the two All-American teams. Georgia leads the way with four players (two first team) while Alabama has three (two first team), LSU has two (two first team), Kentucky has two (zero first team), Missouri has one (one first team), Texas has one (one first team), Ole Miss has one (zero first team) and Arkansas has one (zero first team).
