NEW ORLEANS – Former University at Albany football student-athlete Jared Verse has been named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, announced at the annual NFL Honors ceremony presented by Invisalign.
 
Verse was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams with the 19^th overall pick last April. In his first NFL season, Verse collected 66 total tackles with 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He led NFL all rookies in quarterback hits (18), pressures (77) and hurries (56). He ranked second among rookies in tackles for loss (11) and fifth in sacks (4.5). Among all NFL defensive players, Verse tied for second in hurries, fourth in pressures and tied for 32nd in tackles for loss.
 
Verse recorded his first career sack against Detroit to start the season and became the fourth Rams rookie to record a sack in his debut. In Week 10, he became the first rookie to record a sack in three consecutive games since James Houston in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, Verse has the best defensive grade (86.2), best pressure grade (83.7) and the fifth-best run defense grade (78.4) among all rookie defenders. From Weeks 9-17, he led all rookies in hurries (34), pressures (42), tied for second in forced fumbles (one), tied for fourth in tackles for loss (four) and tied for third in quarterback hits (six). Verse had a pair of seven-tackle games against Arizona in Week 2 and Philadelphia in Week 12.
 
In the postseason, Verse added an additional six tackles and two sacks in two games. The highlight of Verse's season came in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, where he returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.
 
The Rams finished the 2024 season with a regular season record of 10-7, winning the NFC West. The team fell in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles, a game in which Verse recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss.  
 
In January, Verse was named the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) Defensive Rookie of the Year.
 
Verse played for the Purple and Gold from 2019 to 2021. After redshirting the 2019 season, he became an immediate impact player in the spring of 2021. In UAlbany's four games, Verse led the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in tackles for loss (10) and ranked second in the conference with 4.0 sacks. He was named the CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year and was an All-CAA Second Team selection. In addition, he was named a Stats Perform FCS Jerry Rice Award Finalist as one of the best freshmen in the country.
 
Verse transferred to Florida State ahead of the 2022 season. In his first year with the Seminoles, he started nine games while recording 48 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery, and one blocked field goal. His 0.75 sacks per game paced the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and ranked 17^th nationally. He was named a First-Team All-American by The Athletic, First-Team All-ACC selection, and was named Florida State's Defensive MVP.
 
In his second season with FSU, Verse started 13 games for the Seminoles while recording 41 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick. He was named an AFCA First-Team All-American, and a Second-Team All-American by ESPN, the Associated Press, USA Today and The Athletic. He was also named a First-Team All-ACC selection for the second consecutive year, becoming FSU's first two-time First-Team All-ACC defensive end since Reinard Wilson nearly 30 years ago.
 
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