Jared Verse EDGE Florida State: Scouting Report

Height: 6’4

Weight: 260

Overall

Jared Verse is a powerful edge rusher in Florida State’s 4-3 defense. He began his college career at University of Albany where over 2 seasons he played in 15 games, starting 12 of them. He then transferred to Florida State and played in 25 games, starting 23 of them for his final 2 seasons of his college career. He had a lot of production while at Florida State but he is still a raw player. In high school, he had most of his production playing tight end rather than on the defensive side of the ball and he was a 3 sport athlete playing basketball and running track to go along with football. He is a phenomenal athlete but his film shows a lot of areas he needs to improve on moving forward.

Pass Game

In the pass game, Verse played primarily on the edge but occasionally played on the interior with his blend of size and strength. He is very inconsistent with his first step off the line of scrimmage and is often the last defensive lineman out his stance. He has an excellent initial punch and has the power and leg drive to overpower his man and collapse the pocket from the edge with his bull-rushes. Outside of a bull rush though, he struggles getting off of blocks and he often makes little impact in disrupting the quarterback. He shows a very minimal pass rush repertoire and lacks the short area quickness to get around the offensive lineman’s initial contact. At times he will use his hands to try and fight off blocks but he does not have much success in doing so. He has excellent long speed for his size but when he beats his man on the outside he lacks the bend and balance to get square to the quarterback allowing them to easily step up and avoid his rush. He will occasionally drop back in coverage on film but he again lacks the quickness to be successful out in space.

Run Game

Against the run, Verse has the strength to drive his man into the backfield but he often plays too high and is walled out of plays. His football IQ comes into question as well on film as he will look lost during plays and even spin out of his gap allowing big holes for the ball-carrier. On runs to the opposite side of him he shows poor effort in chasing down the play. He will occasionally take plays off even which may be a result of a lack of conditioning. If he does come into contact with the ball-carrier though, he is a good tackler and made some key stops this past season.

Last Word

Verse is an excellent athlete for a player of his size but he is still a very raw football player. He projects best as an edge rusher in a 4-3 scheme with the versatility of playing on the interior in different sub-packages. He has the power to collapse the pocket on bull-rushes but he needs to develop his skill set and bend off the edge before he can be a consistent every down starter. 

One-Liner: Jared Verse the elite physical tools to make big plays at the next level but the inconsistencies in his game will need to be developed before he can be an every down starter.

Grade: 6.6 (Lower End Starter, High End 3rd Down Player)

Games Watched: 2023 - Louisville, Boston College, Duke

Team Fits: Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams