Jevon Kearse will be looking to make life miserable for the Colts offense and Edgerrin James.

On Sunday, James of the Indianapolis Colts and Kearse of the Tennessee Titans line up against each other for the first time.

Both are headed to the Pro Bowl, one as The Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, the other as the AP's Defensive Rookie of the Year.

"We talked about it a lot, particularly after we got drafted," said Kearse, who set an NFL rookie mark of 14½ sacks in a season.

The two watched the draft together in James' hometown of Immokalee, a rural southern Florida farm community.

"I went over there and hung out with him in his little town. Then I went back to my town (Fort Myers) and hung out," Kearse said.

"It's going to be nice," James said of the meeting in the RCA Dome. "Finally, we get a chance to play against each other. All our lives, it was always something happened to prevent it."

Kearse was a year ahead of James in high school, and their two schools never played each other.

"Then he went to Florida, and I was at Miami. Last year, there was a chance that we would play against each other (in a bowl game), and we lost to Syracuse. ... Every year there was something that bumped us away from playing," James said.

Kearse, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end who had 85 tackles, and the James, 6-0 and 216 pounds, are likely to collide frequently Sunday. James, whose selection as the fourth-overall pick ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams was questioned by many during the draft, justified the Colts' decision with 1,553 yards rushing and 586 receiving while scoring a league-high 17 touchdowns.

"Ever since Pop Warner, Little League, I've seen this big running back running over guys," Kearse said of James, who became the first back in Miami history to rush for 1,000 yards two consecutive years.

"He did the same thing in high school. In high school, I think he averaged 150-200 yards a game. To carry on and keep doing the same thing on each level is something pretty impressive.

James knows why Kearse also goes by the nickname "The Freak."

"In some ways he is like one because his abilities, skills and athleticism are so far ahead of most players," James said. "Wherever he has played, he's made headaches for his opponents, and I'm sure he'll try to create some for us."

He will.

"We'll probably do a little bit of trash talking throughout the game, but then again whoever wins it's good for our hometown," Kearse said.

James is grateful he'll be playing at home where the Colts had a sellout every game, rather than at the new Titans' home of Adelphia Coliseum -- a facility that has quickly established itself as one of the league's noisier stadiums.

"I hope it is real loud, and annoying for them," James said. "We need all the help that we can."

James isn't the only member of the Colts whom Kearse knows well. Rookie linebacker Mike Peterson was a Florida teammate, and Kearse played against Peyton Manning when the Colts quarterback was at Tennessee.

"He does a good job getting rid of the ball, but he hasn't played against the Titans yet," Kearse said. "A lot of teams played against him have played in zone pretty much scared of him. We're going to play a lot of man coverage hopefully, and try to get some sacks."