JJ Pegues
{{Short description|American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = JJ Pegues
| image =
| caption =
| current_team = Las Vegas Raiders
| number = 92
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|11|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Oxford, Mississippi, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lbs = 309
| high_school = Oxford
| college = Auburn (2020–2021)
Ole Miss (2022–2024)
| draftyear = 2025
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 180
| pastteams = * Las Vegas Raiders ({{NFL Year|2025}}–present)
| status = Unsigned draft pick
| highlights =
| statweek =
| statseason = 2025
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 =
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 =
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 =
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 =
| statlabel5 = Interceptions
| statvalue5 =
| statlabel6 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue6 =
| pfr = PeguJJ00
}}
Jeremiah J'veon "JJ" Pegues (born November 25, 2001) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels.
Early life and high school
Pegues was born in Oxford, Mississippi, and attended Oxford High School where he played football and basketball.{{Cite web |last=Katz |first=Michael |date=2024-11-27 |title=On day of his last Egg Bowl, Oxford native J.J. Pegues gets his chance to be 'The Mayor' |url=https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/ole-miss/on-day-of-his-last-egg-bowl-oxford-native-j-j-pegues-gets-his-chance/article_eafdac8c-acdb-11ef-a709-83d29e3b56d4.html |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal }}{{Cite web |last=Brugler |first=Dane |title=The Beast: 2025 NFL Draft Guide |url=https://static01.nyt.com/athletic/uploads/wp/2025/04/09073220/2025-Beast-v02.pdf |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 9, 2025 |website=The Athletic |pages=353}} Coming out of high school, he was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Auburn Tigers.{{cite web |last1=Han |first1=Giana |title=Four-star tight end Jeremiah Pegues signs with Auburn over Alabama, Ole Miss |url=https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2019/12/four-star-tight-end-jeremiah-pegues-commits-to-auburn-over-alabama-ole-miss.html |website=AL.com |date=18 December 2019 |access-date=2 November 2024}}
College career
= Auburn =
As a freshman in 2020, Pegues played as a tight end and had seven receptions for 57 yards, while also rushing five times for 14 yards.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Sutton |title=J.J. Pegues, former TE/DL at Auburn, transfers home to play for Ole Miss |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2022/01/19/j-j-pegues-former-te-dl-auburn-transfers-home-ole-miss/6580270001/ |website=The Clarion-Ledger |date=19 January 2022 |access-date=2 November 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Hutchins |first1=Sam |title=How lineman JJ Pegues became a record-setting, automatic touchdown for Ole Miss football |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2024/10/24/jj-pegues-ole-miss-football-defensive-lineman-rushing-touchdowns/75765889007/ |website=The Clarion-Ledger |date=24 October 2024 |access-date=2 November 2024}} He was converted to a defensive tackle prior to the 2021 season.{{cite web |last1=Durando |first1=Bennett |title=Position change sends Auburn football's J.J. Pegues searching for 'the unstoppable move' |url=https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2021/08/19/auburn-football-position-change-jj-pegues/8159134002/ |website=The Montgomery Advisor |date=19 August 2021 |access-date=2 November 2024}} In 2021, Pegues tallied 17 tackles with two being for a loss, in 13 games.{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Tom |title=J.J. Pegues becomes 6th Auburn defensive lineman to enter transfer portal |url=https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2022/01/jj-pegues-becomes-6th-auburn-defensive-lineman-to-enter-transfer-portal.html |website=AL.com |date=18 January 2022 |access-date=2 November 2024}} After the season, he entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
= Ole Miss =
Pegues transferred to play for the Ole Miss Rebels, his hometown team. In 2022, he tallied 26 tackles with five being for a loss, three sacks, two pass deflections, and a receiving touchdown.{{cite web |title=JJ Pegues 2022 Game Logs |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jj-pegues-1/gamelog/2022/ |website=Sports Reference |access-date=2 November 2024}} In 2023, Pegues played in all 13 games for the Rebels starting in 12, where he notched 42 tackles with eight being for a loss, three and a half sacks, and four pass deflections.{{cite web |last1=Kassim |first1=Ehsan |title=Ole Miss football DT JJ Pegues receives Chucky Mullins Courage Award for 2024 season |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2024/08/22/jj-pegues-2024-chucky-mullins-courage-award-ole-miss-football/74902372007/ |website=The Clarion-Ledger |date=22 August 2024 |access-date=2 November 2024}} Ahead of the 2024 season, he was named the recipient of the Chucky Mullins Award. In week 9 of the 2024 season, Pegues recorded three tackles for a loss, two sacks, and a rushing touchdown in a win over Oklahoma.{{cite magazine |last1=Macon Gillespie |first1=John |title='Having Fun!' Ole Miss DT JJ Pegues is Embracing Two-Way Player Role With Rebels |url=https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/football/having-fun-ole-miss-dt-jj-pegues-is-embracing-two-way-player-role-with-rebels-01jbd261es4f |work=Ole Miss Rebels on SI |publisher=SI.com |access-date=2 November 2024}}
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Season
! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Tackles ! colspan="4"| Interceptions ! colspan="4"| Fumbles ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| Receiving | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| colspan="27" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Auburn Tigers}};" |Auburn Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020
| 11 || 1 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 5 || 14 || 2.8 || 0 || 7 || 57 || 8.1 || 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021
| 13 || 1 || 11 || 5 || 16 || 2 || 0.0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| colspan="27" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Ole Miss Rebels}};" |Ole Miss Rebels | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022
| 12 || 0 || 15 || 11 || 26 || 5 || 3.0 || — || — || — || 2 || — || — || — || — || 1 || 4 || 4.0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1.0 || 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023
| 13 || 12 || 18 || 24 || 42 || 8 || 3.5 || — || — || — || 4 || — || — || — || — || 4 || 13 || 3.3 || 0 || — || — || — || — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024
| 12 || 10 || 18 || 23 || 41 || 14 || 3.5 || — || — || — || 1 || 1 || 0 || — || — || 20 || 62 || 3.1 || 7 || — || — || — || — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jj-pegues-1.html Career] | 61 | 24 | 62 | 63 | 125 | 29 | 10.0 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 93 | 3.1 | 7 | 8 | 58 | 7.3 | 1 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 2 1/2
| weight = 309
| dash = 5.15
| ten split = 1.82
| twenty split = 3.02
| shuttle = 4.89
| cone drill = 7.77
| vertical = 27.5
| bench = 23
| arm span = 32 1/2
| hand span = 9 3/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jj-pegues/32005045-4741-0041-a55c-913cbb87cab1 |title=JJ Pegues Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=February 28, 2025}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1044692&DraftYear=2025 |title=JJ Pegues College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=February 28, 2025}}
}}
Pegues was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the 180th pick of the 2025 NFL draft.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://auburntigers.com/sports/football/roster/player/jj-pegues Auburn Tigers bio]
- [https://olemisssports.com/sports/football/roster/jj-pegues/3981 Ole Miss Rebels bio]
{{Las Vegas Raiders 2025 NFL draft picks}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Pegues, JJ}}
Category:Players of American football from Mississippi
Category:Sportspeople from Oxford, Mississippi
Category:American football tight ends
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Auburn Tigers football players