Kearse, Fogerson forge bond

SEATTLE - When Jermaine Kearse and Johri Fogerson signed with Washington in February of 2008, it didn't seem like a stretch at the time to imagine their younger brothers, both very talented in their own right, also playing in Husky Stadium. With the verbal commitment of Jamaal Kearse Tuesday afternoon, that vision became a reality.

It started nearly a year ago, when Kearse and Zach Fogerson met at the Oregon Nike camp in Eugene. "Our parents were talking about Jermaine and Johri rooming together," Fogerson recalled. "I knew about (Jamaal), but I had never met him. We just both walked over and started talking and it happened. We were instant friends after that. We exchanged cells, and now we talk every day."

"Every time we're together, we laugh all the time," added Kearse. "If you catch us two together, we're probably going to be laughing. We're always joking with each other and we're cool with each other."

During the Washington games this past fall, Zach got Jamaal hooked on frozen lemonades, and afterward they would go back to the Fogerson's to play video games. "We probably played for seven hours (at a time)," Fogerson said with a laugh.

After O'Dea and Lakes played in the first round of the state 3A playoffs last year, Zach went over and stayed with the Kearses.

On the way to Washington's spring practice on Saturday, the two stopped at a Wendy's. "We were just laughing at every stupid thing we saw," added Fogerson. "We didn't know why. We just were."

They were also having some revealing conversations. According to Fogerson, they would go something like this:

"How are things with being a Husky?" queried Zach.

"Shut up!'" would be Jamaal's retort.

"When are you going to commit?"

"I don't know."

"Jamaal, you know. We both know."

"That doesn't matter."

"C'Mon. Get it out of the way."

"Maybe."

"That was the only answer he would ever give me," added Fogerson. "On Saturday at practice, he was into it. I told him it was tight. He was like, 'We'll see'. (Washington Running Backs) Coach (Joel) Thomas was talking to me and I told him how we needed to get Mr. Kearse on the board. He said that we needed to go talk to Sark (Steve Sarkisian).

They went over there and started talking. Jamaal walked back to me and said 'OK'. I told him to go back over there and tell coach Sark what's up and go end it. He said, 'Nah.'

"After practice he texted me and said he was thinking about doing it. I was like, 'Then do it!' He texted me (today) and said, 'I'm a Dawg.' I was like, 'Yes! Jamaal!'"

And that was that.

At first, even his older brother distanced himself from the recruiting process, but lately Jermaine decided to start pushing. "(Jermaine) wanted me to go there, but he never wanted to force me," Jamaal said. "But at the end he started talking to me more about coming to UW, telling me to commit."

The younger Kearse admitted that he could have made his decision right after Saturday's practice, but felt like he needed to hold off. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't just rallied up by the practice," he said. "I just wanted to clear my head and make sure it's what I wanted to do."

His brother was the first person he told - during fourth period in class Tuesday - via text. "He told me that he had been waiting for me to come here," Jamaal said of Jermaine's response. "He said he's going to help me learn the plays."

Kearse also sent texts to his mother, step-father and Lakes Head Coach Dave Miller immediately after. Then he spoke with coach Sarkisian around 2:20 in the afternoon. "You could tell in his voice that he was excited," Jamaal said of the conversation he had with UW's first-year head coach. "He said that I'm going to do big things at their school and I'm going to really enjoy my time at the school. He was going over my film again and I'm going to have to make a decision on whether I want to play offense or defense."

At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Kearse certainly has the size and aggressive streak needed to play safety at the Pac-10 level. "Before I was definitely thinking only receiver, but I could play safety," he said. "I don't know which one I want."

Kearse also joins Lakes teammates Sione Potoae and Darius Waters as Lancers who are verbally committed to play for Washington in 2010.

With all the reasons for making a decision in place, it was the one that had nothing to do with family or friends or teammates that sealed the deal for Kearse. "It's a great coaching staff," said Jamaal, adding that playing with Jermaine is just icing on the cake. "They are doing great things with the athletes that they have. They are doing something right. They are getting their plays to work in practice.

"The whole practice seemed so fun, everyone seemed like they were really into the practice. It was an all-around good practice."

It's the first UW practice Jamaal had ever seen, the first of many. And most likely he'll room with Zach next fall. But there's a lot of time between now and then, so Kearse, who is the more outspoken of the brothers, will get to recruiting more top junior prospects to Montlake.

"Jake Heaps, of course," Jamaal said of the Skyline signal-caller, who also happens to be Scout.com's No. 1-rated quarterback for 2010. "I'm going to talk to him about it."

Jamaal has even kept open the idea of listening to other colleges, because there's no question more scholarship offers will be forthcoming. "I'm going to give them a shot," he said. "I have a strong commitment (to Washington), but I'm going to at least look at them."

The future conversations with Fogerson should be interesting, to say the least.

"So Jamaal, how are things going with those other schools?"

"Shut up!"