Jared Verse reveals his biggest concern with so much hype surrounding him

Hype is a good word when it comes to what people are expecting to see out of Florida State this season. The Seminoles have been one of the offseason’s darlings after going 10-3 last fall, their best finish since 2016 and a sign of a major leap in the Mike Norvell era.

Still, individually, Jared Verse admits that he was initially worried about how that hype would affect him. As he said at fall camp last week, he was concerned that the attention and spotlight would have an adverse effect on his preparation and, therefore, impact.

“Honestly? My biggest concern with having all this hype was I wasn’t going to be able to maintain what I’ve gotten used to, my work ethic and everything like that,” Verse said.

Thankfully for those in Tallahassee, though, Verse went on to say that he has avoided all signs of complacency. Instead, he has reset his focus on the ways in which he has found success so far in college and will hopefully bring him more of it in his second season with the program.

“That’s been no problem…It’s never deterred me,” said Verse. “I’ve just been focused to keep working, keep working on what got me here and what’ll get me even further. I’ve just been focused on that.”

Verse finished with 47 tackles and nine sacks in 2022. His sacks were the most on the team last season. His total also accounted for nearly a fourth of the total that the defense posted a season ago.

Now, Verse is back for more with the Seminoles but, regardless of the attention they get, he isn’t interested in anything from the outside since it’s not what’s going to help him or his team accomplish what they’re wanting this fall.

Jordan Travis recalls emotions when Verse returned for 2023

There were a lot of people who thought that Jared Verse would leave Florida State for the NFL this offense. He didn’t, though, as he returned to try and make a run at the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff.

During the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff, Jordan Travis explained how he found out Verse was coming back to Florida State. He shared how happy he was and is to have Verse back in Tallahassee for the upcoming season.

“I knew pretty early on,” Jordan Travis said. “He told me and Trey (Benson) pretty early on. I didn’t believe it until he announced it. You never know with Jared.”

Jared Verse transferred to Florida State from Albany ahead of the 2022 season. With his big personality, Travis admitted that Verse rubbed people the wrong way at first. Then, he started to produce on the field and everyone came around on him as, in 12 games, he had nine sacks and 17 tackles for loss.

“We are so blessed to have him back. Just another leader for this football team and obviously a great playmaker. I’m so glad he’s on our team and we’re not facing him. He’s a special player.”