INDIANAPOLIS— James Pearce was 6 years old the first time he put his hand in the dirt and played organized football. The team was the C-Meck Raiders, a part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Football League, and Pearce—the Charlotte native—was put on defense the first day.

From that moment, he put a hand in the ground; even at such a young age, he knew he'd found the rest of his life.

"It just brought me peace, brought me a lot. What it taught me, the life lessons," Pearce recalled Wednesday at the NFL Combine. "It's something God told me, a feeling I had inside. I'm like, I can't let this go."

He's spent the rest of his life holding on to that feeling.

Pearce went on to play at Julius L. Chambers High School before committing to the Tennessee Volunteers. He had offers to play closer to home but couldn't pass up the opportunity to hone his skills in the SEC.

"I heard the SEC was the JV of the league (the NFL)," said Pearce.

Now, the Vols pass-rusher is on the precipice of making it to the "varsity" and cementing football as his future.

During three years in Knoxville, Pearce accumulated 70 tackles, 19 sacks (including 9.5 as a sophomore), three forced fumbles, an interception, and a touchdown. Still, in a draft class laden with pass-rush talent, Pearce knows he will need the combine workouts and team visits to stand out. He knows he has the qualities to do so; it's just a matter of showing them.

"Fast, athletic, IQ strong, IQ high, knowing where the ball is going to end up," Pearce listed as some of those qualities. "Bringing a lot, making plays on the field."

At 6-5, 243 pounds, Pearce is lanky. He understands that often translates to a lack of power on the field, and that will be the presumption where teams are concerned. Pearce, for his part, is not concerned.

"People don't think I got (power)," Pearce noted. "Probably just because of what my weight says, statistically, but there's a lot of power behind this. (Just) turn the speed into power.

"Just to set up the rushes I want, set up the rushes I want, see how I can get home, see what set the O-tackle gives me."

It's the kind of trait you can see on tape or even more so in person. The Panthers are already monitoring the first and are excited to see the latter. And in such a pass-rush rich class, having an option so close to home remains intriguing.

"A dynamic player, great size, balanced athlete, motor," head coach Dave Canales said Tuesday of Pearce. "He really, his big plays are special, so something that we have to consider and look at. For him to be this close to home, and Tennessee not being very far away as well, somebody that we're going to definitely look at closely."

Pearce, for his part, was tempered and careful to remain open to all teams and possibilities in Indianapolis. No one ever truly knows where they will be drafted, and declaring allegiance to one team before being drafted by another is fodder for upset fans. Still, when Pearce was asked about growing up in Panthers territory, he was initially effusive before running down a list of "a couple of guys" he liked watching.

"Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, even down to Mike Tolbert, Johnathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams, Cam Newton, Steve Smith, all those guys," laughed Pearce, getting into the memories before he could stop himself.

There is another semi-local product, though, that has forever been the harbinger of motivation for Pearce: University of North Carolina linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

"I love LT," praised Pearce. "LT is probably one of the guys that I looked up to, one of the guys film I turn on most."

Now, the former C-Meck Raider can make his own legacy in the NFL. Whether with his hometown Panthers or elsewhere in the league, James Pearce has been working towards this moment from the first time he put his hand in the dirt in a Charlotte playground 15 years ago.

"I probably never lost that swag," promised Pearce, "but I do want to continue to show people who the best defensive player is in the draft."