TALLAHASSEE – Florida State defensive end Jared Verse was among 42 collegiate defenders named candidates for the 2023 Lott IMPACT Trophy on Thursday.
Verse, a redshirt junior from Dayton, Ohio, led FSU with 17.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks in 2022 on his way to being named a first-team All-American and the leading vote-getter on the All-ACC defensive team. FSU’s Defensive MVP, Verse added three quarterback hurries during the season, one fumble recovery at Miami and one blocked field goal against LSU.
Last season, Verse was the only player in the ACC and one of just two in the Power 5 with four games of at least 2.5 tackles for loss. He led the ACC in sacks per game and was second in tackles for loss per game; of the 11 games he finished, he had at least 0.5 TFL in each.
In the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma, Verse registered a season-high seven tackles, with 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sack. He teamed with Dennis Briggs Jr. for a sack on the final play of the game to secure FSU’s 35-32 win, the 10th of the season for the Noles. Against LSU, Verse blocked a field goal and tied a career high with 2.0 sacks. Verse’s fumble recovery at Miami came on the Hurricanes’ only drive into the red zone in FSU’s 45-3 victory.
Verse made his FSU debut with four tackles, 1.5 for loss and 1.0 sack against Duquesne. He spent his first two college seasons at Albany before transferring to Florida State in winter 2021.
Named after former NFL Hall of Fame star Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy annually goes to the Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, a player who has had the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
The annual winner is selected by a national voter panel, consisting of former winners, members of the media, coaches and members of the Board of Directors of the IMPACT® Foundation.
Football Sets APR Mark
Florida State football earned a 972 multi-year Academic Progress Rate, the highest in program history. It’s 2021-22 APR of 981 was the second-highest, trailing only the 987 score from the 2020-21 season.
The 2021-22 average for FBS football programs was 969.
Implemented in 2003, the APR is a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. The APR system includes rewards for superior academic performance and penalties for teams that do not achieve certain academic benchmarks.
The Florida State football team enters the 2023 season as a consensus preseason top-10 team. The Seminoles return 17 starters and more than 85 percent of the production from last year’s team that finished 10-3 and ranked No. 11 in the final Associated Press poll.
Along with football setting its multi-year record, 11 of FSU’s 20 sports recorded perfect 1,000 APR marks in 2021-22: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s cross country, women’s golf, softball, soccer, indoor and beach volleyball and women’s tennis.