Former Albany star Jared Verse brings game-changing ability to Tallahassee
ALBANY, N.Y. (BVM) – Jared Verse became the name to know around the CAA after bursting on the scene during his redshirt freshman year. Now, the CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year is looking to bring his play up a notch as he transfers to Florida State.
After a disappointing 2-9 season, Verse was the bright spot for Albany’s defensive front, racking up 52 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Following his redshirt opening year, Verse would have to wait for his first FCS season until the spring. A solid showing in the team’s shortened campaign helped bring the Great Danes’ star to the forefront.
“It’s been really reassuring,” Verse told Sports Illustrated. “I didn’t let it all get to my head because I do know how it feels. Out of college, I was under-recruited. Not a lot of schools saw what Albany saw. It has been humbling at the same time knowing that hard work does pay off.”
The under-recruited defensive end has changed the narrative since his high school days as a tight end and track state champion. After bulking up from a nearly 200-pound high schooler to his current 247-pound frame, Verse has taken his raw skillset to the next level.
After building close relationships with his coaches at Albany, a decision to leave the school proved challenging. Verse would lean on his family to help make the tough decision as they aided in the overflow of Division I offers.
“Before I left for Thanksgiving break, my coach pulled me aside and I’d never spoken about (transferring) to him at all,” Verse said during his introductory press conference. “He was like, ‘We all know you’re thinking about it.’ I went off to break, I kind of thought about it, I came back and sat down with him and I said, ‘Coach, here’s my mindset. I am going to transfer.’
“And It was hard because he was my coach the whole time there, coach [Bill] Nesselt, the [defensive] line coach there. It was hard to tell him because he was a guy I had built a really close relationship with. We’re very close, I talk to him everyday still. It was a very hard conversation. It was tough to tell them, but I think they understood what I was doing at the end of the day.”
As the offers piled up, Verse would take official visits to programs like Syracuse, Houston and Tennessee. Following nearly 30 offers, Verse’s family would help by adding notes on the current roster situation at each program.
“The best way to describe it is overwhelming,” Verse said. “Coming out of high school, I wasn’t really highly recruited. But then, entering the transfer portal, a lot of colleges came at me in such a short amount of time. My family had to help me. I leaned on them for a lot of support to kind of help me organize everything.”
COMMITTED🍢 #GoNoles @FSUCoachJP pic.twitter.com/NB9L6cqEEM
— Jared Verse (@JaredVerse1) January 8, 2022
With his decision, the 6-foot-4 edge defender will join another program searching for victories as the Seminoles come off a disappointing 2021 season. Thankfully for him, the incoming Florida State redshirt sophomore got a look at what a transfer defensive lineman can do last season in Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas, who shined in 2021.
As he prepares for what’s next, Verse is thankful for how the process played out and the vision that Florida State coach Mike Norvell sold him on.
“Coach Norvell and coach JP got me swayed completely here,” Verse said. “Sitting down with them, seeing coach Norvell’s vision, what Coach JP could do for me but what I could do for the program, that was definitely what swayed my decision the most besides Jermaine and Keir.”
