Head coach Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles have had great success in the NCAA Transfer Portal. A change in transfer rules for 2021 allowed transfer players to play without sitting out a year, accelerating FSU's resurgence. The Noles are coming off an undefeated regular season and ACC Championship and are atop the conference heading into 2024.
Read more: ESPN's Greg McElroy thinks FSU football's season opener could determine College Football Playoff outcome
247Sports recently released their list of the top 10 defenders of the transfer era, and it was no surprise to see New York Jets' Jermaine Johnson and Los Angeles Rams' Jarrett Bass ranked second and third, respectively.
Jared Vers was a First Team All-CAA selection at Albany in the FCS and a two-time FBS First Team All-American at Florida State as a transfer student. The standout pass rusher recorded 89 total tackles, 29.5 for loss and 18 sacks in his two seasons with the Seminoles and made a huge impact on their undefeated 2023 regular season, which included an ACC Championship. With Vers in the lineup, Florida State won 19 straight games and only lost three times in his two years in Tallahassee. There's a reason the Los Angeles Rams selected him with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
– By Cody Nagel, 247Sports.com
Johnson was not a part of the ACC Championship team, but after a great season, he attracted top talent to Tallahassee, recruited the Verse and helped build a winning culture. He was a first-team All-American and was drafted 26th overall by the New York Jets. Johnson was the second player selected on Nagel's list.
Jermaine Johnson II blazed a similar trail at Florida State the year before Jared Barth emerged as a threat. The former junior college prospect and transfer from Georgia was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. He recorded 70 total tackles (18 for loss, 12 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery) and was one of the most disruptive defenders in college football that season. The New York Jets selected Johnson in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He earned Pro Bowl honors in just his second year.
– By Cody Nagel, 247Sports.com
While the success of Johnson and Verss cannot be underestimated, defensive players such as Kiel Thomas and Braden Fisk of the LA Rams, Jarian Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jamie Robinson of the Carolina Panthers and Tatum Bethune of the San Francisco 49ers are transfer students who have progressed to the next level under Norvell. Florida State currently has the seventh-best transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports.
READ MORE: FSU Football Projected to Be One of the Top Teams in the College Football Playoff, According to Analysts
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