Florida State landed a commitment from transfer defensive line target Jared Verse on Friday. The Albany transfer, who measures in at 6-foot-4, 247 pounds, was a top target of the Seminoles from the moment he entered the portal. He was heavily pursued by defensive ends coach John Papuchis and others on the staff. He chose FSU over Miami, Tennessee and many others.
“There was a lot about it. Every college I talked to was an amazing program,” Verse said of his decision. “The past couple days was a fight in my mind to choose from them.
“Jermaine [Johnson], Keir [Thomas] were two huge factors, seeing two guys just like me who had great success there last year,” Verse continued. “They are now preparing for the NFL Draft and they are going to be achieving what I hope to eventually achieve.
“Also when I stepped on campus, it just felt like home,” Verse added, referencing his mid-December official visit.
Verse appreciated all of the attention he got during the process. He shared an earlier message about the process
“I’m thankful for all the support from the universities, coaches, and fan bases while making this big decision. It has been very humbling and I’m proud to announce I have made a decision. I’m sorry to anyone I may disappoint with my decision but I hope everyone can respect it,” Verse tweeted earlier.
As for when he called FSU head coach Mike Norvell, his future position coach, and more, they were very happy to land such a key piece to their plans for 2022 and going forward.
“They were excited. They were happy to have me as part of the program,” Verse said.
Verse had one last message to share now that his transfer recruitment had concluded.
“I wanted to thank Albany a lot,” Verse said. “They’ve really prepared me for this next step in my life. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
He is currently in Arizona and expects to start making the trek to Tallahassee immediately to enroll in the coming days. Verse has three years of eligibility remaining after playing a spring and fall season at Albany last season.
He was the Colonial Athletic Association’s Defensive Rookie of the Year this past spring and a dominant presence again this fall (11.5 TFLs, 9.5 sacks). Verse had emerged as one of the top young pass rushers in the FCS. He had just two offers exiting high school.
He hails from Pennsylvania, though his family is now living in Arizona.
FSU hosted Verse on an official visit in mid-December. During that visit, he was able to build a further bond with the FSU coaching staff and also learned how beneficial last season at FSU was for transfer defensive ends Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas.
“It was definitely speaking to Pop and Jermaine. Two guys that did transfer here and they were upperclass athletes. South Carolina and Georgia, two top-tier athletes. I got to speak with them and see why would they leave schools like that and come to schools like this. They’re both top level schools but if you’re already at a top level school why would you go to another one? I got to understand they had major success coming here,” Verse said regarding the highlight of his visit.
He also enjoyed having a sit-down talk with head coach Mike Norvell.
“Amazing guy. I literally cannot stop speaking good about him. He’s an amazing guy. He cares about you. He’s not a typical coach. He cares about you more than just football,” Verse said. “When we want out to lunch downtown, people were walking up to him and he was always asking how’s their day and how they are doing. Most coaches would have just walked by and moved on with their day.”
For more on his official visit to Florida State, you can read the full recap from that visit here.
His visit to FSU was during a busy week of visits for Verse, who also saw Syracuse, Houston and Tennessee during that time. He was also scheduled to see Purdue, but that visit got pushed by the Volunteers.
In addition to the schools he visited, Verse has been a popular national target in recent weeks. He has landed offers from Auburn, Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Virginia and more.