Elijah Herring remembered what Mekhi Bigelow told him about James Pearce Jr. in the fourth quarter against South Carolina on Saturday night.
Bigelow saw Pearce turn on another level in the fourth quarter when the two were teammates at Chambers High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Herring was witnessing it first hand.
The Tennessee sophomore defensive lineman spent much of the game in the Gamecocks' backfield, totaling two sacks and another two tackles for loss in the Vols' 41-20 drubbing of South Carolina.
His pursuit of quarterback Spencer Rattler didn't stop, even with Tennessee up comfortably late.
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"I knew since (Pearce) got here. He came in with that mindset that 'I'm that guy,'" Herring said. "He kept it consistent each and every day. We're not surprised that James makes plays like that. He had a teammate, Mekhi Bigelow come and say 'James in the fourth quarter is just a different type of breed. He just starts making plays out of nowhere.'
"In that fourth quarter, he got that sack and I thought he might get another one. But we're not surprised by that."
The Vols have grown accustomed to Pearce's dominance up front.
His stellar campaign began in the opener vs. Virginia when he accounted for two sacks and a pair of TFLs. Against South Carolina, he spearheaded a Tennessee front that forced one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC through four games out of his element.
His pressure out of the "rabbit package" forced Rattler to throw a critical interception that was returned for a touchdown by Kamal Hadden to put the Vols up two scores at halftime.
"It all starter from my get off," Pearce said. "Once I just get going, get off, they have no choice but to come out there or sit down inside. They've got to make a choice and I just got to read and react off of it.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Snap counts, game grades for Tennessee during win over South Carolina
Pearce appeared in every game as a freshman a year ago, accumulating five tackles, two TFLs and two sacks in a reserve role. He moved up the depth chart after the departure of Byron Young, who was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Now, Pearce is making an impact at the LEO position behind Roman Harrison where he has played more than 160 defensive snaps in five games.
"I didn't see his stats, but every time I looked up I felt like he was affecting the way their quarterback was playing in the pocket," head coach Josh Heupel said. "Just relentless. Playing with length. Fundamentally continuing to get better and growing as a person outside of the game which has allowed him to quickly accelerate inside of the game.
"He's playing really well right now and his best football is still a long way out in front of him, too, which is a really big compliment to him. He's playing really well right now."
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: X's and O's: Analyzing Tennessee's three best plays vs. South Carolina
"Just getting home, doing what we've got to do up front, in the back, covering, getting after the quarterback, putting pressure on them," Pearce added. "And just knowing you get on the field and don't give the offense a fall back."
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