Jevon Kearse Jevon Kearse ( born September 3 , 1976 ) , nicknamed " The Freak , " is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League ( NFL ) for eleven seasons during the late 1990s and 2000s . Kearse played college football for the University of Florida , and received All - American honors . A first - round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft , he played professionally for the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL . Kearse played for the Eagles for four seasons between stints with the Titans . During his first five years with the Titans , he was a three - time Pro Bowl selection and AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 . Both his unusual speed of 4 . 43 forty and wingspan , coupled with a 38 - inch vertical leap greatly impressed coaches and earned him the nickname " The Freak . " Early years . Kearse was born in Fort Myers , Florida in 1976 , the son of Joseph Kearse and Lessie Mae Kearse . Kearse attended North Fort Myers High School in North Fort Myers , and he played high school football for the North Fort Myers Red Knights . He was over six feet tall and extremely agile , and added muscle without a loss of 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 , he returned four kicks for touchdown s . Following Kearse ' s senior season in 1994 , he was honored as a prep All - American by " USA Today " . In addition to his demonstrated athletic ability on the playing field , he carried a 3 . 6 grade point average and was a member in the National Honor Society . College career . Starting college at 6 feet , 4 inches tall , and 215 pounds , Kearse was projected as either a linebacker or defensive back . He 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 . He began his college career at safety before shifting to outside linebacker in 1996 . The Gators coaches red - shirt ed Kearse for the 1995 season , and he watched the Gators ' run for the 1995 national championship game from the sidelines . He was nicknamed " the Freak " by Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) opponents during the Gators ' 1996 season . In his debut game against Southwest Louisiana , he accounted for six solo tackles and a sack . The Florida Gators would go on to win the national title , defeating Florida State 52 – 20 in the 1997 Sugar Bowl . For his on - field accomplishments , Kearse was named to the All - SEC Freshman team . In a tragic counterpoint , his younger brother Jermaine was killed in a drive - by - shooting following the season . 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 . In his 1998 campaign , he once again led the team with 7 . 5 sacks and also improved his tackles tally to 54 . He 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 . He opted to forgo his final season of eligibility , stating , " I think I ' ve accomplished the four goals I wanted to when I attended the University of Florida : To become a better person , to win a national championship , to get an education and finally to have a chance to play in the NFL . " During his college career , Kearse made 34 . 5 tackles for a loss , finishing eleventh on the Gators ' all - time list . He also compiled 145 total tackles , 16 . 5 quarterback sacks , six forced fumbles , one interception , one recovered fumble , and 19 pass deflections . In an article series written for " The Gainesville Sun " in 2006 , the " Sun " sportswriters ranked him as No . 16 among the top 100 greatest Gators from the first 100 years of Florida football . Professional career . Pre - draft . 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 . Kearse lowered his 40 - yard time to 4 . 43 at the University of Florida " pro day " in the spring of 1999 . Tennessee Titans : 1999 – 2003 . Jevon Kearse was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the 16th pick of the first round . On July 28 , 1999 , he signed a five - year , $ 6 . 1 million contract ; however , according to NFLPA records he earned incentives that increased Kearse ' s compensation in his first five years to nearly $ 9 million . In Kearse ' s debut game with the Titans , he helped them 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 ( which led the AFC ) that year and forced 8 fumbles , which also led the NFL . He also recorded 57 tackles and he batted away 9 passes while also making 7 of his tackles for losses . Accounted for 2 sacks ( QB Rob Johnson ) and 2 forced fumbles in the AFC Wild Card game vs . Buf . ( 1 / 8 / 00 ) . Also credited with a safety in that game known as the Music City Miracle . Kearse was also second in the balloting for the AP Defensive Player of the Year , losing out to Warren Sapp . 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 . That year the Titans made it to Super Bowl XXXIV in which Kearse started , however they lost to the Kurt Warner - led St . Louis Rams . The next season , Kearse accounted for fewer sacks ( 11 . 5 ) 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 . In addition , Kearse totaled 53 tackles ( 6 for losses ) , forced 4 fumbles , had 6 pass deflections , and was again voted to the Pro Bowl . In 2001 Kearse moved from left defensive end to right defensive end as the Titans traded for Kevin Carter . Kearse responded well and recorded 10 sacks , forced 3 fumbles , batted 2 passes while recording 36 tackles . Kearse was voted to his third consecutive Pro Bowl with the Titans in 2001 . In 2002 , Kearse fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on the second play from scrimmage against the Eagles in the season opener ( 9 / 8 ) and was inactive for the next 12 games . Due to the injury Kearse recorded only 2 sacks , playing in only four games ( starting one ) . The following season ( 2003 ) the Titans returned to the AFC championship game and Kearse recorded 9 . 5 sacks through the first nine games but was shut out the final seven games ( he missed two due to a sprained ankle injury ) . He also 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 New England . Philadelphia Eagles : 2004 – 2007 . After his 2003 campaign , Kearse was unable to reach an agreement with the Titans after his contract expired , and thus became an unrestricted free agent . The Philadelphia Eagles signed Kearse to a record - breaking deal for a defensive lineman at the time ; in all , the eight - year contract would pay Kearse $ 65 million , with a $ 16 million signing bonus . 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 . He was , however , still a defensive force , and figured into the game plans of opposing offenses . During 2004 , Philadelphia finished the season with a 13 - 3 record and earned home - field advantage throughout the playoffs . After eliminating the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons , the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX 24 - 21 to the New England Patriots . 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 . Kearse recorded 7 . 5 sacks for the second season in a row ( also leading the Eagles in sacks for the second straight season ) , but in 2005 he batted down 8 passes and forced 3 fumbles . 2006 would be a short season for Kearse who recorded 3 . 5 sacks in the first two games of the season before a severe knee injury . 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 Garry 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 , voiding the final three years of his contract . In his four years with Philadelphia Kearse earned nearly $ 29 . 2 million of his record - setting 2004 contract . Tennessee Titans : 2008 – 2009 . 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 earned a total of $ 3 million in the first year . Kearse started all 16 games in 2008 , finishing with 3 . 5 sacks . During the 2009 season , Jeff Fisher decided to bench Kearse for William Hayes . 2010 . After a long offseason working out and staying in shape , Kearse stated that he was not retired and was looking to play during the 2010 season . However , Kearse went unsigned .