Josh Heupel spent Friday night on the sideline at a Knoxville high school game, taking in West High School against Maryville High School and getting a look at one of Tennessee’s 2027 commitments while he was there, according to WBIR’s Emilie Rae Cochrane.
The Tennessee coach had two clear ties to the matchup. One was linebacker commit J.P.
Peace, a 2027 pledge who spent last season at West before making the move to Maryville. The other was even more personal: Heupel’s son, Jace Heupel, is a sophomore quarterback for West, though he was not suited up for the game.
Peace, a three-star prospect, is ranked by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings as the No. 42 linebacker in the class and the No. 25 player in Tennessee. He’s also part of a notable family line, as the son of former Tennessee linebacker Robert Peace from 2000-2003 and the grandson of former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer, who led the Vols from 1992-2008.
The 6-foot-3 linebacker made one of the night’s biggest defensive plays against his old school, forcing a fumble when he stripped the ball from the running back and then recovering it himself.
Peace was one of Tennessee’s earliest commitments in the 2027 cycle, announcing for the Vols in June 2025.
Maryville ended up leaving Knoxville with a 48-13 road win, and both teams are now 1-1 on the season.
Tennessee’s 2027 class is currently ranked No. 22 nationally by 247, and 10 of the Vols’ 19 commits are from Tennessee. That group includes RB David Gabriel Georges, WR Kesean Bowman, LB Kenneth Simon II, TE Malik Howard, OT Princeton Uwaifo, RB Asa Barnes, LB JP Peace, CB Slim Leavell, and WR Dayon Cooper.
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