NC's top uncommitted football recruit not rushing to sign despite offers from UGA, more

RALEIGH – At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, James Pearce certainly has the size and the athleticism to thrive as a wide receiver or a tight end. As his football career progressed, though, those positions got boring.

“I’ve played offense before in my life,” Pearce told the USA Today Network on Saturday. “But the older I got, the more I didn’t like waiting for the ball. I liked going and taking it from somebody else more.”

That passion for getting after opposing quarterbacks is paying off in a big way.

Entering Wednesday’s early signing period for Division I college football, Pearce, a senior edge rusher at Charlotte’s Chambers High School, is the top uncommitted 2022 recruit in North Carolina by a long shot.

Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and South Carolina are among the 18 FBS programs that have offered Pearce since the spring. After Monday’s 247Sports composite rankings update, Pearce has also jumped from a three-star recruit to a four-star recruit and the state’s No. 9 overall 2022 prospect.

And his uncommitted status this late in the recruiting cycle has made him quite the target.

Speaking after Chambers lost to Cardinal Gibbons in the NCHSAA 4A state championship game at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, Pearce said he is still planning to hold tight during this week’s early signing period and instead lock up his commitment during the regular signing period that starts on Feb. 2, 2022.

As for a verbal commitment?

“As soon as it’s the right time,” he said.

Pearce said he’s seeking out a college program that “feels like home, where I can go there and do my job and play – and ball.” But he ground his search to a near halt this fall, shifting his attention instead to his senior season with Chambers, one of the state’s most dominant football programs in recent seasons.

Entering August, Chambers (formerly Vance) had qualified for three consecutive state championship games in North Carolina’s largest classification and won two in a row under coach Glenwood Ferebee.

Pearce, an outgoing senior, wanted to make it three straight. So he approached Ferebee in the preseason and ensured him as much: recruiting could wait, despite his rapidly expanding offer list.

Recalled Ferebee in a pre-state championship news conference: “To be honest with you, he hasn’t let it affect him. He said, ‘Coach, I’m going to wait until after the season. Let’s go get this championship.’”

What Ferebee described as a “laser focus” paid dividends for Pearce, who took snaps at nose guard, edge rusher, linebacker and even safety for Chambers’ defense. Cardinal Gibbons coach Steven Wright dubbed Pearce an “NFL talent” after competing against him this August, per the Charlotte Observer.

Top recruiters agreed, as Pearce scored offers from SEC programs Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida as the year progressed. Chambers went 9-1 in regular season and dispatched five playoff opponents to qualify for its fourth straight 4A state title game, a rematch against Cardinal Gibbons in Raleigh last Saturday.

Across his first 15 games, Pearce was nothing short of dominant with a team-high 14.5 sacks plus 14 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two safeties and two interceptions. He also scored three defensive touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter strip sack and fumble recovery for a score that put Chambers up 14 points on conference rival Hough in an eventual 4A semifinal win.

Cardinal Gibbons stunned Chambers in their second meeting of the season, with the Crusaders earning their first ever NCHSAA state championship with a 14-2 win on a rainy night in Carter-Finley Stadium, but Pearce remained impactful with five solo tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

“We just came up a few plays short,” Pearce said.

With his prep career concluded, the nation’s No. 22 edge rusher and No. 305 overall prospect is now ready for a recruiting stretch run. Pearce has only taken one all-expenses-paid official visit, to Missouri on June 25, and has four remaining. Those are sure to be a deciding factor in his February decision.

Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina all got unofficial visits from Pearce earlier this year and are likely candidates for official visits. Of note: Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks, who just landed Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler, have held three 247Sports Crystal Ball selections to sign Pearce since July.

“All the opportunities to play at the next level, I’m grateful for them,” Pearce said.

Wherever he lands, Pearce also indicated there’s another level to his edge rushing skills, which have already vaunted him from an unranked junior to a four-star senior with a trove of SEC opportunities.

“I’d just say more to come,” he said.

Chapel Fowler is a recruiting reporter for The Fayetteville Observer and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him by email at cfowler@gannett.com or on Twitter at @chapelfowler.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Top North Carolina recruit James Pearce weighs Georgia, other offers