Florida State’s Jared Verse featured in Powerade commercial following NIL deal
Florida State defensive end Jared Verse has linked himself to a sports drink, and it’s not Gatorade.
Thursday, Powerade published its “It Take More” advertisements, highlighting multiple college football players, which included Verse. The advertisement also includes LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and defensive back Georgia Malaki Starks.
The advertisement follows five college players being signed to NIL deals from the company: Verse, Daniels, Starks, USC wide receiver Mario Williams and Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. Powerade is also the official sports drink of the NCAA.
Verse is featured in the advertisement training, getting hyped up and toward the end smashing a rock, which is commonly done after an FSU win.
The commercial is just another accolade to add to Verse’s preseason hype as he was named a first-team Preseason All-American by the Associated Press on Monday. He’s also on multiple watchlists for the Lombardi Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy and was voted to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
A transfer from Albany, last season he recorded 47 tackles, 16 for a loss, and nine sacks. His strong first year with the Seminoles earned him a first-team All-American by The Athletic. He had also received the most All-ACC votes on defense while being named a first-team all-conference performer last season.
As a team, FSU has received a lot of hype heading into its season-opening game against LSU on September 3 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Both the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll ranked the Seminoles at No. 8 in the country, their highest ranking since 2017. FSU is predicted to finish second in the ACC behind Clemson, according to the ACC’s Media Poll.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: AP No. 8 FSU (0-0) vs. No. 5 LSU (0-0)
When/where: Sunday, Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.tallahassee.com; @jackgwilliams on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
