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Warchant Top 40: After dominant first season at FSU, DE Jared Verse grabs No. 2 spot

On3 imageby:Corey Clark•07/10/23•

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Jared Verse Florida State
Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s time to look ahead to the 2023 Florida State football season with Warchant’s annual list of the Top 40 players on the Seminoles’ roster — the players we expect to make the biggest impact for FSU this fall. (Note: This is not necessarily the 40 most talented players, but the players we believe will have the opportunity and capability to make the biggest impact this season.)

The list was compiled through voting by Warchant’s Gene Williams, Ira Schoffel, Corey Clark, Jeff Cameron, Aslan Hajivandi and Tom Lang.

The Top 40 is being revealed in segments, continuing today with player No. 2.

Earlier Installments: Players No. 36-40 | Players No. 31-35 | Players No. 26-30 | Players 21-25 | Players 16-20 | Players 11-15 | Players 6-10 | Player No. 5 | Player No. 4 | Player No. 3 |

No. 2 Junior DE Jared Verse

The scariest thing about Jared Verse is that he did what he did last year, bursting onto the scene and becoming one of the top pass-rushers in the country and a first-team All-ACC selection, despite almost never being fully healthy.

He nursed the knee injury he sustained in the third game of the season at Louisville for the rest of the year. He played, and played well, despite not truly being 100 percent in any of those games. Which speaks to just how physically gifted the Ohio native truly is.

Verse finished with 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2022. His last play of the year was a game-ending quarterback sack in the win over Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl. He ranked second in the ACC and 10th nationally with an average of 1.4 tackles per loss per game.

So, the question heading into the 2023 season isn’t if he can have a repeat of his breakout 2022 campaign. It’s if he can stay healthy, showcase that immense potential and become one of the very best defensive players in the United States.

Verse, who transferred from FCS program Albany before the 2022 season, turned down potentially millions of dollars to return to FSU for another year. And there are many draft prognosticators who view him as the most talented edge rusher in the country and a potential top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Whether that happens or not, the 6-foot-4, 253-pound redshirt junior figures to be one of the most impactful college players in the nation in 2023. Not only because of his remarkable combination of size, speed and burst, but because he has one of those larger-than-life personalities that can galvanize an entire team.

Verse expects to be dominant every time he steps on a football field, and he certainly doesn’t mind telling you how good he is while he’s out there.

And as long as he’s healthy, expect him to reach — and probably exceed — those expectations in 2023.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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