Player Overview: The NCAA transfer portal has helped many college teams close the gaps of competition in the last few years or, at least, helped out a few prospects gain more exposure to scouts for the NFL Draft. Players like Joe Burrow, Jameson Williams, and Jermaine Johnson, to name a few, are players of recent memory that went from relative obscurity in big-time schools, to finding a massive opportunity to showcase their talents at their transferred schools. One name that is bound to follow the same success path is Florida State EDGE Rusher Jared Verse. Formerly of FCS School Albany University, Verse was reportedly noticed by several ACC schools scouts watching the game Albany played last year versus Syracuse University, where he dominated against a higher quality of competition. This is proof that no matter where you play (if you have talent), evaluators will find you. Verse would, later on, attract numerous FBS offers that culminated in him transferring to Florida State following a successful stint at Albany where he was named the CAA Defensive Rookie of the year in the shortened COVID-19 2020 season. He was also named first-team All-CAA in 2021 after posting 14.5 sacks for the Great Danes. Thus, here is why I believe Verse is a player you should definitely pay more attention to as a player that will ultimately rise up a lot of draft boards should he declare for the 2023 NFL Draft.
2022 season stats (4 games):
- 13 total tackles, 4 sacks, 1 Blocked Field Goal
Strengths:
- Powerful and explosive pass-rusher with lower body flexibility to bend the arc around tackles.
- Boasts an explosive get-off.
- Converts power to speed routinely, displaying violent hands at POA, and shedding blockers out of his lane with such ease, then follows with an incredible burst to the QB
- Plays with outstanding leverage that helps him use his strong hand to control blockers, and also protects his chest plate with consistent arm extensions
- Really disruptive, shows up with sack production and overall backfield disruption on tape
- Really adept at setting a solid edge, and quickly shedding blockers to redirect to ball carriers and make plays.
- Is already a game-changer, coming from FCS Albany to FSU, as shown by a key blocked FG versus LSU in primetime
- A pretty diverse pass-rush repertoire, strong hand usage, and also flashes speed to power abilities off the edge
- Displays good pursuit speed, and has a really high motor
- As shown incredible toughness to still play through a scary knee injury from the previous game before Wake Forest, looked hobbled playing through a knee brace but, even at 60-70%, looked really strong and explosive and still played with an impressive motor.
- A physical tackler when he wraps up ball-carrier
- Is able to drop in coverage, whether in zone or man-to-man, thanks to really good athleticism
Jared Verse is BACK đź’Ą pic.twitter.com/t1iZ1tzEYO
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 1, 2022
Weaknesses:
- Doesn’t seem to have above-average arm length for the position, which may give him issues versus more physically gifted tackles at the next level.
- Can be a bit frenetic at times rushing upfield, leading to missing tackles.
- Knee injury sustained vs Louisville forcing him to wear a brace will need to be monitored to see how it impacts his game for the rest of the season.
- Lack of experience playing at high levels of competition may have some teams question his readiness for the next level, but is already a really dominant player and was, in my opinion, the best player on the field in every game I have watched.
Pro Comparison: Nick Bosa
System Fit: Double-digit sack artist capable of playing as an edge defender in either 4-3 or 3-4 schemes with perennial Pro Bowler potential. Don’t be surprised if Verse challenges Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. to be the top EDGE rusher prospect in this draft class by draft day, but he is probably going to end up being EDGE rusher #2 in the 2023 NFL Draft at this current pace.
