What Josh Heupel Had to Say About Tennessee Football Offensive Lineman Jesse Perry

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What Josh Heupel Had to Say About Tennessee Football Offensive Lineman Jesse Perry

Sep 27, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Tennessee Volunteers offensive lineman Jesse Perry (72) celebrates after a touchdown against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wesley Powell · Tennessee Volunteers On SI

Wed, Sep 23, 2026 ·

3 min read

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Tennessee defeated Kennesaw State in a 42-9 blowout of the Owls on Saturday night. The Vols showed their dominance in all aspects of the game.

The Vols now stand at 3-0, winning all of their non-conference games. A big part of this is because of the play of true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and the running backs. However, they are only as good as the offensive line can be, and the offensive line has more than shown up for the offense so far.

Junior Jesse Perry , an offensive tackle, has been a big part of the offensive line's success. In the game on Saturday, Perry was the Vols' highest-graded PFF player with a 92.6 rating on the night. He also played 63 snaps against Georgia Tech , not allowing a sack, and another 53 snaps against Furman.

Head coach Josh Heupel has spoken very highly of Perry, and here is what he said about him after Saturday's contest.

Josh Heupel on Jesse Perry

Tennessee linebacker TJ White (51) and Tennessee offensive lineman Jesse Perry (72) before the game between Tennessee and Kennesaw State at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Sept. 19, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"First of all, you go through this league, you're going to need them all. You guys are probably tired of me saying that, but that's the truth. I think Jesse's done a really good job. He's played both in his career, guard and tackle, but he's settled in and played really well here the last couple of weeks at tackle," Heupel said.

Perry's Career

Jee — Tennessee offensive lineman Jesse Perry (72) during warm-ups at a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 29, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Perry is from Murfreesboro, Tennessee , and decided on the in-state Tennessee Volunteers over 25 other offers.

Since arriving in Knoxville, Perry has worked his way up from being redshirted (back when redshirts were a thing) during his true freshman season.

During his second season (redshirt freshman/sophomore), he started 12 games, participating in all 13. He split time at both right tackle and right guard, starting seven at right tackle and five at right guard. He was awarded Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week honors in the Vols' win over Florida , in which he did not allow a pressure and helped the Vols' offense gain 452 yards.

Coming into this season, Phil Steele named him to his preseason All-SEC First Team.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tennessee as What Josh Heupel Had to Say About Tennessee Football Offensive Lineman Jesse Perry .

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