34 Facts About Jevon Kearse

Jevon Kearse was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round pick of the 1999 NFL draft.

Jevon Kearse played for the Philadelphia Eagles for four seasons between his two stints with the Titans.

Jevon Kearse was born on September 3,1976, in Fort Myers, Florida.

Jevon Kearse attended North Fort Myers High School in North Fort Myers, and played high school football for the North Fort Myers Red Knights.

Jevon Kearse began attracting college recruiters under his coach Wade Hummel.

Jevon Kearse played strong safety and tight end, and in his first season in high school, he returned four kicks for touchdowns.

Jevon Kearse accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1995 to 1998.

Jevon Kearse began his college career at safety before shifting to outside linebacker in 1996.

Jevon Kearse was nicknamed "the Freak" by Southeastern Conference opponents during the Gators' 1996 season.

Jevon Kearse made the All-SEC team in 1997 for the first time by registering a team high 6.5 sacks during the regular season as well as 38 tackles and two forced fumbles.

Jevon Kearse was named All-SEC again and earned the AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year that season, as well as making the list of several different All-American teams, and was a finalist for the Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, and Chuck Bednarik college defensive player of the year award.

Jevon Kearse compiled 145 total tackles, 16.5 quarterback sacks, six forced fumbles, one interception, one recovered fumble, and 19 pass deflections.

Jevon Kearse lowered his 40-yard time to 4.43 at the University of Florida Pro Day in the spring of 1999.

Jevon Kearse was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the 16th pick of the first round.

Jevon Kearse was the first player drafted by the Tennessee Titans; who had previously been the Houston Oilers.

Steve McNair had been injured, and with backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell in his place, Jevon Kearse helped lead the Titans to win the next four out of five games.

Jevon Kearse recorded 57 tackles and he batted away nine passes while making seven of his tackles for losses.

Jevon Kearse accounted for two sacks and two forced fumbles in the AFC wild card game vs the Buffalo Bills.

Jevon Kearse was a consensus All-Pro and was the first rookie defensive end in AFC history and the first rookie DE in the NFL since Detroit's Al "Bubba" Baker in 1978 to be named a Pro Bowl starter.

The next season, Jevon Kearse accounted for fewer sacks but stated that he was playing better than his rookie season.

Jevon Kearse lost the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award to Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2001, Jevon Kearse moved from left defensive end to right defensive end as the Titans traded for Kevin Carter.

Jevon Kearse responded well and recorded 10 sacks, forced three fumbles, batted two passes while recording 36 tackles.

Jevon Kearse was voted to his third consecutive Pro Bowl with the Titans in 2001.

In 2003, Jevon Kearse recorded 9.5 sacks through the first nine games but was shut out the final seven games.

Jevon Kearse played a key role on the 2003 Titans who made the playoffs and won their first-round game against Baltimore before losing a hard-fought divisional match against the eventual world champion New England Patriots.

Jevon Kearse played well with the Eagles in 2004, but his tackle and sack totals were not as high as he had previously achieved in his career with the Titans.

Jevon Kearse was still a defensive force, and figured into the game plans of opposing offenses.

Jevon Kearse recorded 7.5 sacks for the second season in a row, but in 2005 he batted down 8 passes and forced 3 fumbles.

However, Jevon 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.

On March 6,2008, Jevon Kearse returned to the Titans by signing with the team as a free agent.

Jevon Kearse signed a two-year, $6 million deal, with a $1.3 million signing bonus.

Jevon Kearse earned a total of $3 million in the first year.

Jevon Kearse started all 16 games in 2008, finishing with 3.5 sacks.