Eastern Washington University Athletics

Before embarking on a highly-productive seven-year career in the National Football League, Sargent twice earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) All-America honors as an offensive tackle at Eastern. He earned first team accolades on the prestigious Walter Camp and Kodak All-America teams, with the Kodak team voted on by FCS college coaches. He also earned second team All-America honors as a junior in 1990 from the Associated Press and the Football News. Although Eastern was just 5-6 both seasons, he and fellow NFL standout and EWU Hall of Fame member Kurt Schulz helped lay the groundwork for Eastern's Big Sky Conference championship in 1992. It also helped Sargent toward an injury-shortened seven-year career in the NFL where he started 63 of 73 career games played. He signed a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1992, and not only did he make the team, but he quickly developed into a starter. He played in 16 games as a rookie, including eight starting assignments. He began the 1993 season as the starter at left tackle in place of 11-time Pro Bowler and eventual NFL Hall of Fame inductee Anthony Munoz. But Sargent broke his arm on the second play of the season and missed most of the year. In 1995 the offensive line set a franchise record by allowing just 1.56 sacks per game, and he had just one missed assignment in 852 total snaps that season. In 1997 he had no missed assignments in 604 plays, and was awarded an offensive game ball for helping Corey Dillon rush for a NFL rookie record 246 yards. He missed all of the 1996 season and six games in 1997 after neck surgery to repair a herniated disk that would later end his career. Nevertheless, he became the highest-paid offensive lineman in Bengals history in 1998 when he signed a four-year contract worth about $12 million, including a $3.5 million signing bonus. He then started all 16 games that season, but his career ended during the 1999 preseason because of numbness and tingling in his back, arms and hands. A 1987 graduate of Bremerton, Wash., High School, Sargent was inducted into the Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 13, 2007. In June 2008, he was one of 26 offensive linemen selected to Eastern's "100 for 100" All-Time team. The overall "100 for 100" squad consisted of 100 of the top players in school history to help commemorate the 100th year of football at Eastern. Players were honored on Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Day on Sept. 27, 2008, in conjunction with EWU's Big Sky Conference football game with Idaho State. Former Eastern offensive line coach Larry Hattemer, who recruited and coached Sargent, had this to say in a 2007 story in the Kitsap Sun: "When I watched him play basketball, I saw this big, tall kid with long arms who could move his feet. I said, `Here's a guy if he can't play tight end or defensive end, he can sure be a tackle. He was a really weak kid, but he found his way to the weight room. Some guys do, some guys don't. It meant a lot to him to be a good player. He got to 285 and he could still run and jump and play basketball. When Anthony Munoz retired from the Bengals, this kid from Eastern stepped right in. I was really happy for him because Kevin's a great guy. He understood the game and played hard. He did what you asked. He had a little bit of an attitude during the game, which is what you're looking for."