Tennessee offensive lineman Jesse Perry entered the season as one of the top surprises from training camp this past month. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound in-state lineman from Murfreesboro, TN, only played in four games during his true freshman season in 2024, but he’s already on his way to becoming an impact player during his second season on Rocky Top.
In the wake of David Sanders Jr.’s injury that kept him sidelined for the opener against the Orange, Perry was the starter at right tackle for the Vols’ offense on Saturday. He played well against Syracuse, showing off his ability to handle rushers off the edge and the agility to pull across the line in the run game. Perry’s performance garnered him the third-highest PFF grade among Tennessee’s linemen in the game.
It wasn’t hard to be impressed by his performance on Saturday. But what wasn’t known then makes things all the more impressive. Perry only found out he was going to start at right tackle just a few hours before the noon kickoff.
“It was pretty last-minute. I got told in the morning, but I was ready for it,” Perry told the media on Monday. “I’ve taken enough reps at tackle, I felt confident to go out there. It sucked not having David (Sanders) out there, but as a unit, we’re ready. Next man up mentality. Just go out there and play for each other.”
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Perry’s studious nature during training camp earned him compliments from his coaches and teammates during training camp. Even though he was primarily working at guard during the fall slate, his IQ on the line and versatility to shift over and play either spot allowed him to find success against the Orange on Saturday. It goes to show just how complete a player Perry is, and speaks to the high praise and buzz that he had around him during camp.
“Yeah, Jesse does everything right,” Offensive line coach Glen Elarbee said. “Absolutely everything. From eating habits, recovery, film study, coaching other players. That’s the reason he puts himself in positions that he’s at. He gets his body — his body has changed so much since he’s been here. He’s highly intellectual, so he studies the crap out of everything. That’s what he does. Like you say, what is it? Man, it’s everything. Yeah, you don’t want to say anybody’s perfect, but he’s pretty close to doing everything right.”
With Sanders projected to return to full health for the ETSU game on Saturday in Knoxville, it’s plausible that Perry will keep a spot on the starting offensive line as he shifts back to the guard position. That would potentially move Sham Umarov to a high-level backup role with Sanders as a starting tackle and Perry as a starting guard. We’ll have to wait and see how things shake out on Saturday (and the following Saturday against Georgia), but it feels hard to keep Perry off the field at this point early in the year.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage this fall.
