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-shirted Kearse for the 1995 season, and he watched the Gators' run for the 1995 national championship from the sidelines, before they lost to Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl. Soon he was bestowed with his nickname, 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. That year, the Florida Gators would go on to win the national title, defeating Florida State University 52-20 in the 1997 Sugar Bowl. For his on-field accomplishments, Kearse would make the All-SEC Freshman team. His younger brother, Jermaine, was killed in a drive-by-shooting after 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 2 forced fumbles. In his 1998 campaign, he once again led the team with 7.5 sacks and also improved his tackles tally to 54. 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."
For his career Kearse racked up 34.5 tackles for loss, ranking 11th on UF's all-time list. Finished his career with 145 total tackles, 16.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 1 recovered fumble, and 19 pass deflections.
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