62 Days to Gator Football: Jevon Kearse

[Escambia94]

The Freak played safety and linebacker for Coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators from 1995 to 1998. He was a USA Today All American as a high school safety and tight end with room to grow. His freshman year he was redshirted as safety, but once he packed on 50 pounds he found a niche as outside linebacker. In his first start as linebacker he recorded six solo tackles and a sack while quickly living up to his nickname as the Freak. 1996 was a bittersweet year for Jevon. He won a spot on the All SEC Freshman squad and helped the Gators win the Bowl Alliance National Championship, but he lost his little brother in a tragic shooting. Jevon made the All-SEC team in 1997 after recording a team leading, 38 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. In what turned out to be his final season of 1998 he once again led the team with 7.5 sacks and improved his tackles tally to 54. Was named All-SEC again and earned the AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year award before deciding to forego his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. Jevon finished his career with 34.5 tackles for loss (11th on UF's all-time list), 145 total tackles, 16.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 1 recovered fumble, and 19 pass deflections.

Prior to the 1999 NFL Draft, the 263-pound Jevon Kearse was clocked at a 4.43 40, which was enough to make him the 16th pick of the Draft (Philadelphia Eagles).

 

[DRU2012]

Boy, was it ever a luxury having Jevon in the middle of our defense on every play. With his "wingspan" and crazy-fast reflexes , it would have been a huge disadvantage for the opposition's offense even if he just stood in place there, knocking everything down within his reach and generally clogging up anything trying to develop in the middle of the field--but he was amazingly mobile side-to-side, AND had unreal anticipation to go with those snapping quick-twitch reflexes, moving up into running plays and dropping back in anticipation of the pass and where he needed to be. Almost always right in his reads, he had the added ability to "catch-up" when he was wrong, or (more often) an improvising opposing playmaker came up with something unexpected on an otherwise-broken play. He was (and continued to be, in his pro-career--long and stellar) one of those rare players who truly makes everyone around him better. We sure "need another like him"--which really isn't fair, of course: they called him "the Freak" for a reason (actually several reasons, all of them good ones!).

 

[Escambia94]

Just a note to anyone following (all three of you): after some adjustments to the countdown Jevon Kearse and all the Gators below were moved up one position. This means that there will be no countdown on Sunday, July 1, because Jevon Kearse moved from 63 to 62 and is now represents 62 days until Gator football. The countdown will resume with #61 on Monday.

 

[DRU2012]

(laughing) I'm sure this wasn't the reason, but you DESERVE "a day off", E-. You must be settling in where you are about now. All kinds of fireworks activity up and down the coast this long-weekend...One year I went to a party at a colleague's place on the beach at Marina Del Rey, where the wealthy who live there try to drunkenly out-do each other, each with his own outsized private stash of what-SHOULD-be-Profesional-level-displays: It was like a war zone out there, I was having my own little private flashback-nightmare as cartons full of unexploded ordinance caught fire and sent rockets and intensely-hot glowing colored balls shooting sideways across the sands, popping, sizzling and shrieking as they went by. A wonderful time is guaranteed for all.
(...and, btw, as I've noted before, it may LOOK like only "all three of us" are following your list and accompanying comments, but in fact there is a constant presence at all hours of non-members who read these posts, they just don't join as members to comment themselves. We're keepin' it "simmering on the stove": as folks "come back" and interest, activity, excitement and accompanying opinion heat up later on as the actual season approaches, this will all change...)