NFL draft expert breaks down how Jared Verse, Olu Fashanu decision can change college football landscape

Following the 2022 season, Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse and Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu both made the decision to return to school. This was a bit of a surprise, given that both were seen as high NFL Draft picks.

Now, NFL Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah explained how this decision, assuming it’s a trend going forward, could impact football.

“I can’t remember a year where you’ve had a potential top-10 pick left tackle and a potential top-10 edge rusher who both went back to school,” Jeremiah says.

“I think you’re seeing a couple factors [play into that] in this draft. One is COVID, in terms of people losing some development time. You have the extra COVID year, so you get the older player. And then you have NIL, which I think is going to be able to hold some kids in college. I actually think in the long run that’s great for everybody.”

Jared Verse has only played one season at the FBS level, previously being a star at FCS Albany before transferring to Florida State. He did lose a significant amount of playing time because of the pandemic, which impacted FCS more than FBS.

For his part, Olu Fashanu missed time in 2022 with an injury. He likely still would have been a high NFL Draft pick, but it’s also something that could have impacted his decision.

“It’s great for the kid to continue to develop, great for the college to hold onto good players, then for the NFL to get more reliable players and a longer opportunity to evaluate them.”

Both Jared Verse and Olu Fashanu are expected to be among the 10 best college football players in 2023.

NFL exec slams Anthony Richardson

One player who did choose to leave early and be a first round NFL Draft pick was Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. He’s a hotly debated quarterback with one NFL executive from the AFC slamming him for his performance against Utah.

“Everybody watches the Utah game—this guy’s top five!” said one AFC executive.

“Well, yeah, they ran three plays. Let’s not get it twisted. He’s running boot and he’s taking off if it’s not there. It’s just not real football.”