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Twelve months ago, very few people around the football world knew the name Jared Verse.
Verse, a Pennsylvania (Central Columbia) product, began his career at the FCS level with the University of Albany. He played sparingly in his first two years with the Great Danes before breaking out in 2021.
Verse then entered the NCAA transfer portal where he became one of the nation’s hottest commodities at the defensive end position. He eventually found a new home with the Florida State Seminoles.
The 6-foot-4, 251-pound edge rusher quickly showed that he belonged at the FBS level. More than that, he dominated. Verse recorded 22 tackles and nine sacks to help lead the Noles to a 10-3 season and back to prominence.
His performance earned him recognition as a big-time prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. CBS Sports ranked him at the No. 11 prospect in the nation regardless of position.
But now that’s irrelevant.
While the prevailing wisdom was that Verse was clearly NFL bound, that’s no longer case. Verse shocked the college football world Saturday by announcing that he intends to return to Tallahassee for his senior season.
🖤 #NoleFamily pic.twitter.com/MIyeglWXlX
— Jared Verse (@JaredVerse1) January 7, 2023
HUGE NEWS for FSU this AM. DE Jared Verse just announced he's returning for 2023. He told me: "I did what was best for me, and what was best for me was coming back and competing with my team." https://t.co/stwSi3AByX
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) January 7, 2023
Verse returning immediately makes him one of the best players in the nation in 2023 and he could we position himself to move even farther up draft boards for 2024.
Beyond that, it’s also a huge boon for the 10-3 Seminoles. Florida State already figured to be one of the favorites in the ACC with star quarterback Jordan Travis returning. Now it also returns its best defensive player.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy went so far as to rank the Noles as the No. 4 team in the country headed into the 2023 season.
It's never too early for my @ActionNetwork Ridiculously-Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2023. Pac-12 leads way w/6 teams, then ACC (5), SEC (4), Big 12 (4), Big Ten (3), AAC (1), Sun Belt (1) & Notre Dame. I'm confident you will agree w/all 25 teams, so enjoy!https://t.co/g58acUXaIU pic.twitter.com/lpuh4xmfif
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 7, 2023
Florida State Fans Are Fired Up About The Return Of Star DE Jared Verse
Needless to say, Florida State fans were pretty fired up by the news of Verse’s return.
Let’s goooooooo!!! 🏹🏹🏹🏹
@KindaFitSmurf get those clips ready!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/9hVgWv0YTU pic.twitter.com/Mv2wEtUr9T— Just a Girl who loves her Noles 🏹🥰 (@BostonNoleGirl) January 7, 2023
https://twitter.com/trapj99/status/1611766586578182145
In 2023, @FSUFootball returns:
🍢 The country’s highest-graded QB and ACC leader in pass efficiency, yards per completion & yards per pass attempt (@jordantrav13)
🍢 ACC’s yards/rush leader (@trey_uno1)
🍢 ACC’s yards/catch leader (@jjohnnywilson)
🍢 ACC’s sacks/game leader ⬇️ https://t.co/Xb9YXz6V0j— Derek Satterfield (@dsatt_) January 7, 2023
Florida State may well and truly be back. And if that’s the case, it’s bad news for the ACC and the rest of the country.