The Kansas City Chiefs made a significant change in their secondary before the start of this season, and a young defensive back has risen to new levels as the leader on the depth chart.
Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to the Washington Huskies alum Jermaine Kearse at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton before he participated in the inaugural Golf Classic Fundraiser to honor local first responders in commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.
Kearse opened up about his involvement in the event and thoughts on the success of fellow Huskies alum Trent McDuffie.
“I serve on the Board of PLTgolf, the leading sponsor of this event, and when I joined the board, our tagline was, Give, Golf, Grow,” said Kearse. “The support behind the First Responders Children’s Foundation, my brother, my younger brother, just recently became a police officer.
“There are a lot of things that brought me out here to be able to support, knowing that I have a family member who’s a first responder and all the families across the country who ultimately make the sacrifice that each first responder makes. It was a no-brainer for me to support it here. It’s such a great event.”
Kearse was a standout wide receiver during his college playing days at the University of Washington before becoming a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks and stints with the New York Jets and Detroit Lions in the NFL. He returned to the school, serving as an assistant coach in previous years and getting an early look at future Chiefs All-Pro Trent McDuffie.
“I got to watch Trent (McDuffie) play up and close and personal,” Kearse explained. “I was on the coaching staff a bit when he was playing at Washington, and you just automatically saw his talent through his work ethic and how he goes about his business on nongame days.
‘He’s a hard worker. He’s always trying to perfect his craft. The University of Washington has a lineage of great DBs (Defensive Backs) to come out of there, and he’s just continuing that legacy; he is just a tremendous hard worker and a super awesome person, which translates into what he’s doing on the field.”
McDuffie earned All-Pro honors in his sophomore season and has been tabbed as the Chiefs top cornerback. He has already made sensational plays in Week 1 of the season as the team seeks an unprecedented three-peat.
“Back-to-back Super Bowls, in the future, a three-peat, it’s a really cool thing to see from where he started, coming in as a freshman at UW (University of Washington),” said Kearse. “Carrying out that work to the NFL, seeing his success blossom and his talents being exposed to the world to see how really good of a player he is, he continues to show that day in and day out.”
First Responders Children’s Foundation is a national organization that provides programs and resources to address the needs of first responders and their families. It was founded over 22 years ago in response to 9/11 when 800 children lost a first responder parent.
Additional information about FRCF can be found at 1stRCF.org and on Facebook, X, and Instagram @1strcf.