Jayron Kearse

Jayron Kearse

No. 27 Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1994-02-11) February 11, 1994
Place of birth:	Fort Myers, Florida
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	South Fort Myers (FL)
College:	Clemson
NFL draft:	2016 / Round: 7 / Pick: 244
Career history
Minnesota Vikings (2016–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-American (2015) First-team All-ACC (2014)

Jayron Kearse (born February 11, 1994) is an American football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

High school career

A native of Fort Myers, Florida, Kearse transferred to South Fort Myers High School in January 2012 after playing mostly quarterback three years at Cypress Lake High School. There, he played defense in his freshman season and switched to the offensive side as a junior and totalled 1,600 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He played as a safety, running back and wide receiver at South Fort Myers as a senior in 2012, helping lead his team to an 11-2 record after rushing for 528 yards (12.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns to go along with five more receiving scores while averaging 18.9 yards per reception; as a safety on defense, he also recorded 87 tackles, three sacks and an interception. Following his senior season, he was invited to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Houston, Texas. Kearse also participated in track & field for the Wolfpack.

Recruiting

Frequently listed as an "athlete" by most recruiting services, Kearse was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 16 athlete in the nation according to both Rivals and 247Sports.com. He was viewed as the seventh best outside linebacker in the nation by Scout.com, while MaxPreps listed him as the fifteenth best athlete in the nation and considered him a four-star recruit.

Kearse originally committed to play college football at Auburn University on August 2011, but on January 2012, he verbally committed to the University of Miami after the Tigers lost coach Gus Malzahn to Arkansas State. Kearse posted a picture of himself on his Twitter feed holding a Miami helmet and wearing a Hurricanes sweatshirt standing next to Hurricanes coach Al Golden. However, after attending camp at Clemson in June, he de-committed from the Hurricanes and ended up commiting to Clemson University on August 2, 2012. Kearse stated: "I chose Clemson because the coaches are genuine people that care about their athletes, and is just a great place to be with a group of guys who all want the best for you."

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Jayron Kearse ATH	Fort Myers, Florida	South Fort Myers (FL)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.45	Aug 2, 2012
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (OLB); 100 (national)   Rivals: 14 (ATH); 40 (FL); 242 (national)
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

College career

As a true freshman at Clemson in 2013, Kearse played in 12 games and made three starts. He had 55 tackles and four interceptions. As a sophomore in 2014 he started 12 of 13 games, recording 67 tackles, two interceptions and three sacks.

After the 2016 national championship game, Jayron announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, with many mock drafts projecting him as a late 1st round selection.

Professional career

Pre-draft

External video
Kearse runs the 40 at the NFL Combine
Kearse gets drafted by Minnesota

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 4 in	216 lb	​34 1⁄4 in	​9 5⁄8 in	4.62 s	1.62 s	2.69 s	4.60 s	7.06 s	​31 1⁄2 in	10 ft 4 in	16 reps
All values from NFL combine except 20-yard shuttle result from Clemson's Pro Day

Minnesota Vikings

Kearse was drafted 244th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft, joining his teammate on the Tigers' defense cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who was taken by the Vikings in the second round. Kearse, who watched the NFL draft with his family back in his hometown, watched hopelessly as he was passed on by NFL teams round after round. "I threw the caps on the ground after I was drafted." Kearse said. "The Vikings gave me a shot. 31 passed on me, so 31 got thrown on the ground. The Vikings are the lucky ones. I'm definitely going to make the other 31 pay.”

Career statistics

College

Regular season statistics				Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
Season	Team	GP	GS	Comb	Total	Ast	Sck	Tfl	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FF	FR	FR YDS
2013	Clemson	12	3	41	29	12	0.0	0.0	0	4	62	15.5	0	0	1	0	0
2014	Clemson	13	13	61	46	15	3.0	5.0	5	2	21	10.5	0	0	0	1	0
2015	Clemson	14	14	62	41	21	0.0	6.5	6	1	0	0.0	0	0	1	1	0
Totals		39	30	164	116	48	3.0	11.5	11	7	83	11.9	0	0	2	2	0

Personal life

Kearse has family ties to the NFL, as Jevon Kearse, former Florida Gators All-American and longtime Tennessee Titans defensive end is his uncle, and his cousin, Phillip Buchanon, played college football at Miami and was taken in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.

External links

• Clemson Tigers bio