Verse Selected 19th Overall In First Round Of NFL Draft

TALLAHASSEE – Florida State defensive end Jared Verse became the program's 47th first-round NFL Draft selection Thursday evening when the Los Angeles Rams picked him 19th overall.

Verse's selection extends Florida State's streak to 41 consecutive NFL Drafts with at least one player picked. That streak, which began in 1984, is the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. Verse is the second first-round pick under head coach Mike Norvell, joining defensive end Jermaine Johnson who was the 26th overall selection in 2022. Florida State now has 295 NFL Draft picks in its history, including 205 during the 41-year streak.

Verse was a two-time All-American, including first-team honors from the AFCA in 2023 and The Athletic in 2022, after transferring to Florida State prior to the 2022 season. The Dayton, Ohio, native played in 25 games with 22 starts at FSU and collected 89 tackles, including 29.5 for loss with 18.0 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and two blocked kicks.

During his redshirt junior season in 2023, Verse had 41 tackles, with 12.5 for loss and a team-high 9.0 sacks. He added three pass breakups, 11 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a blocked extra point. Verse had a career-high 2.5 sacks and a season-high 3.0 tackles for loss in Florida State's 24-15 win at Florida to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. He followed that up with 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss in the Seminoles' 16-6 win over No. 14 Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.

Verse is the highest-drafted player from Florida State since Brian Burns was selected 16th overall in 2019 and the 33rd top-20 pick in program history. Live coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft continues through Saturday on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network.

Florida State University Athletics

Verse Selected 19th Overall In First Round Of NFL Draft

Players Mentioned

Jared Verse

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