Jevon Kearse encyclopedia topics

Early years

Kearse was born to Joseph and Lessie Mae Kearse. He had an older brother, J.J., and a younger half-brother, Jermaine. His father Joseph led a life of crime, and was murdered shortly before Jevon's birth. When he was a toddler, his grandfather was shot down in front of his house. That same year his cousin Danny was killed, and another cousin, Marcell, died in prison.

High School years

Kearse became serious about football in his high school years. He was over six feet tall and extremely agile. He began to gain muscle but did not lose his speed and agility. Kearse began attracting college recruiters under his coach Wade Hummel. He played strong safety and tight end, and in his first season in high school football, he returned four kicks for touchdowns.

In 1994, Kearse's senior year, he was honored as an All-American by USA Today. In addition to his athletic ability, colleges were interested in his 3.6 GPA and membership in the National Honor Society.

College career

Kearse was projected as either a linebacker or defensive back. He thought seriously about University of Notre Dame but instead attended the University of Florida. He began his career at safety before shifting to outside linebacker in 1996.

Kearse was red-shirted for the 1995 season, which gave him the opportunity to experience college life without the pressure of being a full time football player. He watched the Gators' run for the NCAA title from the sidelines, before they lost to The University of Nebraska.

The following spring it was clear that he had the desire to start in the fall. Coach Steve Spurrier was planning to unleash the "Freak" on the SEC opponents. In his debut game against Southwest Louisiana, he accounted for six solo tackles and a sack. That year, the Florida Gators won the national title in a game against Florida State University. Kearse made the All-SEC Freshman team. The happiness of this accomplishment was somewhat reduced when his younger brother, Jermaine, was killed in a drive-by-shooting after the season.

Made the All-SEC team in 1997 for the first time. In his 1998 campaign, he was named All-SEC again and was named to several different All-American teams and was one of three finalists for both the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award. Kearse was also one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award in 1998. Kearse was also the AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year that season

For his career Kearse racked up 34-1/2 tackles for loss, ranking 11th on UF's all-time list. Finished career with 145 tackles, 16-1/2 sacks, forced 6 fumbles, picked off a pass and recovered one fumble while he batted away 19 passes.

Professional career

1999 NFL Draft

In the 1999 NFL draft Tennessee Titans GM Floyd Reese found Jevon still available at the sixteenth pick, and took him with the support of head coach Jeff Fisher.

Kearse, at 262 pounds, ran a 4.58 second 40-yard dash, 4.24 second 20-yard shuttle and had a vertical jump of 37 inches at the 1999 NFL Combine

First stint with Titans

In Kearse's debut game with the Titans, he helped them to achieve a 36-35 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Steve McNair had been injured, and with backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell in his place, Kearse helped lead the Titans to win the next four out of five games. In the first month of his NFL career, he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month.

For all but one month of the season, he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month, and ended up becoming NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year with the help of his rookie record-breaking performance with 14.5 sacks that year.

The next season, Kearse accounted for fewer sacks but stated that he was playing better than his rookie season. The Titans lost their Divisional playoff games to the Baltimore Ravens who ended up winning the Super Bowl that season. Kearse also lost the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award to Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.

Philadelphia Eagles

After his 2003 campaign, he was unable to get a new deal with the Titans after his contract expired, and became an unrestricted free agent. Looking for an anchor at DE, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Kearse for an unheard of eight-year, $65 million contract, more than any lineman before him.

Kearse played well with the Eagles in 2004, although his tackles and sacks numbers were not as high as usual. He was, however, a force to be dealt with and one of the main priorities to every offensive line coach who played against the dominating Eagles.

Philadelphia had a tremendous season that year, winning thirteen of their first fourteen games, losing only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in mid-season. They finished the season with a 13-3 record and earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Kearse's skills would be put to the test when the Eagles were to square off against Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. Vick, who was arguably the most mobile quarterback in the league, posed a real threat out of the pocket.

Defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles Jim Johnson called upon Kearse to adapt in a totally different environment, where his main objective was to keep Vick in the pocket. Michael Vick suffered that day, completing only 11 of 24 passes and with an interception, and being kept at just twenty-six yards rushing. This game sealed an NFC championship win.

The Eagles lost the Super Bowl by only three points after a final drive by Eagles failed to come up with any points. Kearse himself was held to two tackles in the game.

In 2005, Kearse had a solid year similar to the year before, yet his team fell to a 6-10 record. During the season, starters like Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Hank Fraley, Tra Thomas, Lito Sheppard, and others were out with injuries, and star wide receiver Terrell Owens was banished from the team nine games into the season.

2006 would be a short season for Kearse, as it was feared that he tore several ligaments in his knee, as well as dislocating his kneecap, tearing his knee capsule, straining his quadriceps tendon, and injuring his hamstring, during an overtime game against the New York Giants in week 2 of the NFL season. When he went into surgery, however, doctors were surprised to see that almost everything in his knee was intact, except for a tear to the lateral meniscus cartilage and a fracture to his tibia. The injury was downgraded from possibly career-ending to just a 12-week recovery.

In June 2007, Kearse appeared to weigh around 230 lbs, almost 30 pounds lighter than his normal playing weight. Kearse attributes the weight loss from extensive cardio-vascular exercise as part of his rehab. This brought concern from defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and according to sports reporter Gary Cobb, teammates have claimed that Kearse is "partying like a rock star" in Florida and "is living like he's not playing football anymore”. By the time the season started, however, Kearse was said to have bulked up back to his normal playing weight (which is still considered quite light by NFL standards).

However, Kearse did not appear to have regained his burst on the line and, in light of substandard production, he lost his starting job to longtime teammate Juqua Thomas in Week 11 of the 2007 NFL season. Due to this lack of production, along with the expensive contract Kearse carries, many predicted that he would be cut by the start of the 2008 season. This speculation turned out to be well-founded; he was released by the team on February 28, 2008.

Return to Tennessee

On March 6, 2008, Kearse returned to the Titans by signing with the team as a free agent. Kearse signed a two-year, $6 million deal, with a $1.3 million signing bonus. He’ll earn a total of $3 million in the first year.