The fourth player to sign with Tennessee on National Signing Day 2018 is OLB JJ Peterson. He is the 18th member of the 2018 signing class for UT.
OLB JJ Peterson – Colquitt County (Moultrie, GA) 6’2, 231
Composite 4-star/247Sports (4)/Rivals (4)/ESPN (4)
Josh Ward’s take: Peterson chose Tennessee over Alabama and Georgia and should play a major role in Jeremy Pruitt’s defense in the future. Peterson is an elite athlete and the type of player Tennessee will have to land in the future if Pruitt’s defense is going to become what he plans.
Composite Ranking:
National Rank: No. 48
Position Rank: No. 3 OLB
State Rank: No. 7 in GA
High School
- Selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl
- Competed at the Nike The Opening Finals
- Named to the All-USA Georgia First Team by USA Today
- Named to Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) Class 7A All-State first team as a senior in 2017
- Named to Georgia Sports Writer’s Association (GSWA) Class 7A All-State second-team defense in 2017
- Was an GSWA Class 7A All-State Honorable Mention as a junior in 2016
- Led Colquitt County High School to the GHSA Class 7A state championship game in 2017
- Totaled 199 tackles (28 TFLs) and 14.5 sacks in three seasons at Colquitt County
- Had a career-year in 2017, making 110 tackles, including 19 TFLs and five sacks, while forcing one fumble and recovering three loose balls
- During his junior campaign, he totaled 59 tackles and 6.5 sacks
- Made 30 tackles as a sophomore, including four TFLs and three sacks
- Selected Tennessee over offers from several schools, including Alabama, Auburn and Florida
