ESPN names team MVP for Tennessee Vols in 2023
The Tennessee Vols' 2023 season didn't exactly go to plan — UT didn't win the SEC East like they were hoping to — but it was still one of the most successful seasons that the program has seen in the last two decades. Tennessee won nine games this past season for just the fourth time […]
The Tennessee Vols' 2023 season didn't exactly go to plan — UT didn't win the SEC East like they were hoping to — but it was still one of the most successful seasons that the program has seen in the last two decades.
Tennessee won nine games this past season for just the fourth time since the program parted ways with Phillip Fulmer at the end of the 2008 season.
Unlike the 2022 season, which provided offensive fireworks in nearly every game of the season, the 2023 Vols had to win games via a combination of a strong running game and a stout defensive line.
ESPN recently named the team MVP for each Top 25 program and they went with one of those defensive linemen as their choice for the Vols, naming edge rusher James Pearce as Tennessee's MVP in 2023.
From ESPN: Pearce gave an improved Tennessee defense a legitimate pass-rushing presence in every game. He earned first-team All-SEC honors after recording 9.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback pressures. The true sophomore had more than one tackle for loss in five SEC games and led SEC defensive linemen in overall sacks. "He's a first-round [NFL] draft pick," a Tennessee source said. "He'll play one more season and get up outta here." Fellow pass-rusher Tyler Baron also deserves an MVP mention, as does running back Jaylen Wright, a second-team All-SEC selection who had 1,013 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Pearce, who was a sophomore this past season for the Vols, will likely only be in Knoxville for one more season. As ESPN noted in the above blurb, Pearce is destined to be a first round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. If that's the case, he'll become the second Vols player in three drafts to be selected in the first round (offensive lineman Darnell Wright was a first round selection by the Chicago Bears in the 2023 NFL Draft).
