FSU football: Jared Verse and Johnny Wilson named Preseason All-Americans
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football players continue to capture big accolades, as Jared Verse and Johnny Wilson got named Sporting News Preseason All-Americans.
We can add this to the national watch lists these two have appeared on thus far.
Jared Verse also just signed a national NIL deal with Powerade. It’s amazing to see how much this FSU program has changed or gotten back to its roots over the past year.
FSU football was where the best players wanted to play and compete for National Championships before going on to the NFL.
That’s the trajectory for the program under Mike Norvell. Verse and Wilson project to be NFL Draft picks after the 2023 season. Verse will likely go in the first round, and Wilson could go in the first round if he builds on the season he had last year.
I think we can make the case he could equal or surpass the numbers Kelvin Benjamin put up in 2013. Wilson had 43 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns a year ago. He could have easily had 50+ receptions for 1,000+ yards.
Jared Verse led the team with 17 tackles for a loss and nine sacks while playing at far less than 100 percent after suffering an injury against Louisville. I expect both players to put up monster numbers.
I expect FSU to play with a lead most of the time, which will allow Verse to pin his ears back and go after the quarterback more.
The defensive line will be better, so I’m not sure teams can double-team him as much as they want. Johnny Wilson will have more help at receiver, which means opposing defenses can’t double-team him.
FSU is finally back to having top players, which is one reason they’re ranked top-10 nationally going into 2023.