ALL GROWN UP
When Jared Verse showed up to his first football practice at Central Columbia in 2016, then coach Scott Dennis could only look up and say, "Wow."
That's because Dennis knew he was looking at someone physically special. As practice unfolded, Verse, only a sophomore, continued proving Dennis right as he lapped the other kids.
Still, nobody, not even Dennis, could ever imagine watching what unfolded over the last seven years. It accumulated to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing the Los Angeles Rams selecting Verse as the 19th overall pick and fourth defensive player in last week's draft, the highest selection by far for a local player in the football-rich region.
"I knew he was a special athlete, but I don't think we saw that in the NFL aspect," Dennis said. "He had plays that made you say 'wow' with how explosive he was. We tried to put him in spots that could impact the game, and you could tell he was a physically dominant young man."
Verse was used primarily as a tight end in his three years at Central after transferring from North Carolina. His run-blocking skills were apparent, pushing teams off the ball 6-7 yards, including the nationally ranked Southern Columbia squad his senior year, to help Isaac Gensemer shatter the program rushing record. The coaching staff attempted to make him a two-way player that season — finishing with 16 receptions and 14 tackles — but durability issues caused them to rethink that and use him sparingly defensively.
The two-time All-ACC defensive end displayed explosive speed throughout his college career at Albany and Florida State, recording 31 sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass deflections, and 164 career tackles. Central track and field coach Nate Johnson credits Verse's time on the track — being the difference maker for the Blue Jays' 1,600 relay team in their state championship race in his final high school run — with his technique in the trenches, enabling him to get a great first step.
"He really trained to control his body. There are fluid movements and correct forms to get out of the blocks. If you don't, you'll get stuck in the blocks and they'll blow you out of the water," Johnson said. "I think that taught him attention to detail and learning how to come out of blocks. He really did take care of that. He really focused on that and learned how to sprint and have the ultimate burst of speed. Track and field helped him with that. Watching his warmup routine, it's almost identical to what we do every day in track."
Those pass deflections also come as no surprise to his high school basketball coach Chris Snyder, who, like the rest, saw the raw potential from day one. Verse showed he could jump and play in the box with anybody, but the game would have to be taught over time. Snyder and the coaching staff, primarily current Danville coach Gary Grozier, took him as a strong defender and turned him into an all-around player.
"He was a tremendous defender and rebounder earlier than his offensive game came around. As he got better, we started to do some things that really highlighted him," Snyder said. "He changed the game when he was in the middle of the paint for us. You couldn't throw the ball over him because of his tremendous vertical jumping ability. The thing that came around his senior year, he would just dunk the crap out of the ball. It was game-changing momentum. He'd deflect the ball, take one dribble, and just dunk. It lifted our team."
Like he seemingly always does, Verse — who, after opting out of last year's NFL draft, helped lead Florida State to a perfect 13-0 regular season and declined to play in the Orange Bowl after the Seminoles were snubbed of the playoff — saved his best for last when the stakes were the highest, scoring a career-high 23 points in a playoff loss for the Jays.
Trailblazers' advice
Though Verse is on a path unlike anyone else's locally with Bloomsburg University's Jahri Evans going in the fourth round, the work is just beginning. That's evident as Verse is being sought by numerous media outlets and isn't available for comment.
Now that his dream is a reality, former NFL player and current Berwick athletic director Bo Orlando says Verse should be aware that this level of football will be different than anything he's experienced and that he should never forget those who helped him along the way.
"It's a childhood dream. Take it like a job and never forget where you come from," Orlando said. "The same people will be there for you whether you succeed or don't succeed. Those group of friends that you grew up with will be here for you all your life. A few of my teammates keep in touch, but not many. It's a job and it's run differently like a big business. You're a number now per se. I played for 10 years and I have the same values and I'm thankful for that."
Every coach on record said Verse has stayed in contact as recently as the weekend of the draft, keeping them all in the loop with the process.
Orlando, who played for four NFL teams from 1989-98, doesn't keep up with major college football or the NFL these days. But for someone who vividly remembers the day he got the call from Houston Oilers' defensive backs coach Nick Saban that he had been drafted 157th overall (sixth round), saying "the hair on my arms stood up," Orlando says Verse's historical achievement is great for the area.
"I do try to follow local guys, and I think that's great for the area and Northeastern Pennsylvania football," Orlando said. "I like it when local kids make it. I think it's fantastic for local kids and this helps keep their dreams alive."
Verse is the first local high school player to make it to the NFL since Southern Columbia's Henry Hynoski, who signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free-agent fullback out of Pitt in 2011. During his four-year career in New York, he helped the Giants win the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots in his rookie campaign.
Central Columbia athletic director Kevin Morgan says the community doesn't have plans to honor the occasion at the moment, but says everyone is excited to see Verse — the Rams' first selection in the first round since Jared Goff in 2016 — play on Sundays.
"I think everyone is pretty excited that someone from a small town has worked his tail off and made it into the NFL as a first-round pick," Morgan said. "I'm not a huge fan of the transfer portal, but Jared Verse is the reason it's there. He didn't get a lot of looks out of high school, but he made a name for himself and if it wasn't there, I'm not sure he would go in the first round."
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