FSU Football Produces ACC-Best 10 Picks In 2024 NFL Draft

The Seminoles had 10+ picks in a single draft for the fourth time in program history.

Mar 9, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head football coach Mike Norvell / Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida State football program produced 10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, which concluded Saturday, and was the only team in the country to have multiple defensive linemen, multiple defensive backs and multiple wide receivers selected.

Florida State had 10 picks in a single draft for the fourth time in program history, matching the mark from 1995 and trailing only the ACC-record 11 picks in the 2013 and 2015 NFL Drafts. The 10 draft picks tied for the third-highest among all programs nationally in 2024 and were four more than the second-place ACC team. FSU was one of six teams nationally with three top-40 selections, and its six top-100 picks tied for the third-highest total among all collegiate programs. The Seminoles extended their streak of having at least one former player taken to 41 straight years, the eighth-longest active streak in the country.

Showcasing the balance of last year's squad, Florida State had five offensive players and five defensive players selected. It was the fifth time in program history with five offensive players taken in the same year and first time since 2015. The last time Florida State had five defensive players off the board in the same year was 2013, and 2024 marked the ninth time with at least five FSU defenders taken. FSU had multiple defensive linemen drafted for the 14th time in program history. The Seminoles also had their 14th year with multiple defensive backs taken in the same draft and have produced 37 defensive back picks in the last 37 NFL Drafts. Florida State had multiple wide receivers selected in the same draft for the sixth time and first since 2003.

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Defensive end Jared Verse started the festivities Thursday night. He became Florida State's 47th first-round pick in program history when he was selected 19th overall by the Los Angeles Rams. Wide receiver Keon Coleman was the first selection Friday evening when the Buffalo Bills picked him 33rd overall, defensive tackle Braden Fiske was picked by the Rams at No. 39 overall, defensive back Renardo Green went to the San Francisco 49ers at 64th overall, running back Trey Benson was selected 66th overall by the Arizona Cardinals and defensive back Jarrian Jones was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars with pick number 96. Quarterback Jordan Travis was the New York Jets' fifth-round selection at No. 171 overall, wide receiver Johnny Wilson was picked by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 185 overall, tight end Jaheim Bell was selected by the New England Patriots with the 231st overall pick and linebacker Tatum Bethune was picked by the 49ers with the 251st overall selection. Florida State now has 304 NFL Draft picks in its history, including 214 during its current streak of 41 straight drafts with at least one selection.

Jared Verse | DE | 1st Round (19th overall) | Los Angeles Rams

Verse was a two-time All-American, including first-team honors from the AFCA in 2023 and The Athletic in 2022, after transferring to Florida State prior to the 2022 season. The Dayton, Ohio, native played in 25 games with 22 starts at FSU and collected 89 tackles, including 29.5 for loss with 18.0 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and two blocked kicks.

During his redshirt junior season in 2023, Verse had 41 tackles, with 12.5 for loss and a team-high 9.0 sacks. He added three pass breakups, 11 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a blocked extra point. Verse had a career-high 2.5 sacks and a season-high 3.0 tackles for loss in Florida State's 24-15 win at Florida to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. He followed that up with 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss in the Seminoles' 16-6 win over No. 14 Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.

Verse is the highest-drafted player from Florida State since Brian Burns was selected 16th overall in 2019 and the 33rd top-20 pick in program history.

Keon Coleman | WR | 2nd Round (33rd overall) | Buffalo Bills

Coleman is the second FSU player taken in the first 33 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft, joining defensive end Jared Verse. Verse on Thursday night became Florida State's 47th first-round pick in program history when he was selected 19th overall by the Los Angeles Rams. Florida State now has 296 NFL Draft picks in its history, including 206 during its current streak of 41 straight drafts with at least one selection.

Coleman was a first-team All-American all-purpose player and the first-team All-ACC wide receiver, all-purpose player and return specialist in 2023. He is the only FSU player to earn three first-team all-conference awards in one season and was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team. Coleman started all 12 games he played and caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding 300 yards on 25 punt returns. His receiving touchdowns total was the highest in the ACC, tied for 11th nationally and ranked eighth on FSU's single-season list. His punt return yards total also led the ACC and ranked third in the country, while his average of 12.0 yards per punt return ranked second in the conference and ninth nationally.

The Opelousas, Louisiana, native grabbed a career-high-tying nine receptions for a career-best three touchdowns in the season-opening 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU. He became the first player to make three receiving touchdowns in their FSU debut, and that total tied for the highest single-game output in the ACC and for third in the country in 2023. In the 41-3 win over Syracuse, he joined FSU legend Peter Warrick as the only players in Florida State history with at least 100 receiving yards and 100 punt return yards in the same game as Coleman tied his career-high with nine receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown while adding 107 yards on six punt returns. His 247 all-purpose yards ranked 14th on FSU's single-game list and the second-highest single-game output in the ACC in 2023. Coleman also caught two touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime, in the 31-24 win at Clemson that snapped the Tigers' 25-game ACC home winning streak.

Coleman is the highest-drafted FSU wide receiver since Kelvin Benjamin was selected 28th overall in 2014.

Braden Fiske | DT | 2nd Round (39th overall) | Los Angeles Rams

Fiske earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and Phil Steele and was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2023. He started all 13 games he played and recorded 43 tackles, including 9.0 for loss with 6.0 sacks, and five quarterback hurries. Over the final five games played, he collected 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks, including a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss and career-best 3.0 sacks in the ACC Championship Game victory over No. 14 Louisville. He began the game with tackles on the first three snaps of the game and ended it with a 13-yard sack to finish the Cardinals' final offensive drive in the 16-6 win.

Over his career, which includes time at Western Michigan before transferring to Florida State, Fiske appeared in 46 games with 32 starts and recorded 191 tackles, 36.5 for loss with 19.5 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The Michigan City, Indiana, native also earned all-conference honors in 2022 for the Broncos.

Renardo Green | DB | 2nd Round (64th overall) | San Francisco 49ers

Green appeared in 53 games with 32 starts and twice earned All-ACC accolades during his five years at Florida State. He recorded 143 tackles, including 7.0 for loss with 0.5 sack, 22 pass breakups, one interception and one forced fumble.

The Orlando native was an honorable mention All-American, second-team All-ACC selection and Thorpe Award semifinalist in 2023 after he started the season's first 13 games and made 43 tackles, 2.5 for loss with 0.5 sack, 13 pass breakups, one interception and one quarterback hurry. His pass breakups total led the ACC and ranked 10th nationally, and his 14 total pass breakups ranked second in the conference and 18th in the country. He made a season-high seven tackles in Florida State's 31-24 victory at Clemson, including a stop for no gain on 3rd-and-1 in overtime the play before FSU earned a game-ending stop on 4th down. He recorded a career-high three pass breakups in the ACC Championship Game victory over Louisville and began the season with four solo tackles, one interception and one pass breakup against eventual Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft Jayden Daniels during FSU's 45-24 win over LSU.

In 2022, Green appeared in all 13 games and made 12 starts, recording 58 tackles, 3.0 for loss, and five pass breakups. His tackles total ranked fourth on the team and included two games with a career-high nine tackles. He first made nine stops in the 35-31 win at Louisville and then matched that total against No. 22 Wake Forest. Green made a career-best eight solo tackles in the 24-23 win against LSU in New Orleans and ended the season with six tackles, 1.0 for loss, and one pass breakup in the 35-32 Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma in Orlando.

Trey Benson | RB | 3rd Round (66th overall) | Arizona Cardinals

Benson was a second-team All-ACC selection in both of his seasons at Florida State and totaled 2,459 all-purpose yards while showcasing his versatility rushing, receiving and returning kickoffs. He is the only Florida State player to rush for three touchdowns in a game against Florida, a mark he hit in both games played against the Gators, and the only player in FSU history with an 80-yard touchdown rush and 80-yard touchdown catch. He also tied a program record with three 80-yard touchdowns. He recorded three games with at least three rushing touchdowns, which ranks as the third-highest total in program history, and Benson is the sixth FSU player to score at least nine rushing touchdowns in multiple seasons. His 23 career rushing touchdowns are 11th on Florida State's all-time list, while his 1,895 rushing yards rank 18th in program history.

Last season, Benson rushed for 906 yards and 14 touchdowns and added 20 receptions for 227 yards and one touchdown. He was the only player in the country with an 80-yard rushing touchdown and an 80-yard receiving touchdown in 2023, and he was the only ACC rusher with multiple three-touchdown games. His rushing touchdowns total tied for seventh on FSU's single-season list, was second in the ACC and 15th nationally in 2023. His 15 total touchdowns also ranked second in the conference, and his average of 5.81 yards per carry was fourth in the ACC. Benson rushed for a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries in FSU's 39-17 win over Virginia Tech. His average of 18.2 yards per carry against the Hokies broke Florida State's single-game record that had been held by Warrick Dunn since 1995. Benson produced the fifth-best single-game rushing performance in Doak Campbell Stadium history and joined Dalvin Cook as the only FSU rushers with a 200-yard game since 1988. In addition to his three-touchdown game in FSU's 24-15 win at Florida, Benson also scored three rushing touchdowns in the 66-13 win over Southern Miss. He had a rushing touchdown and receiving score in the 41-16 win at Wake Forest, and his 80-yard touchdown catch helped propel his first collegiate 100-yard receiving game.

The Greenville, Mississippi, native was an immediate impact player in 2022 after joining the program in January of that year. He rushed for 990 yards and nine touchdowns and returned five kickoffs for 192 yards and one touchdown. He was the first player to earn outright ACC Running Back of the Week in three straight weeks, which he accomplished by rushing for more than 100 yards in each of the final three games of the regular season. Benson culminated his streak by rushing for 111 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-38 victory over Florida, becoming the first UF opponent to rush for three touchdowns in one game since 1997. He started the streak with a then-career-best 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 45-3 win at Miami and then bettered that mark the next week with 163 yards in a 38-3 win at Syracuse, a total that was the highest by any ACC player on the road in 2022. He registered his first three-touchdown game in a 44-14 win over Boston College with a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown and two rushing scores. He began the game by taking the opening kickoff to the end zone, authoring the first opening kickoff return touchdown in Doak Campbell Stadium's 73-year history and becoming the first FSU player to score a kickoff return touchdown and two offensive touchdowns in the same game.

Jarrian Jones | DB | 3rd Round (96th overall) | Jacksonville Jaguars

Jones played in 44 games and made 28 starts in his four years at Florida State. Including his true freshman season at Mississippi State, Jones recorded 96 tackles, including 5.5 for loss with 1.0 sack, 12 pass breakups, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in his collegiate career.

In 2023, he earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition after registering 25 tackles, 5.0 for loss with 1.0 sack, three interceptions, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He was the first player in FSU history and the only player nationally in 2023 to record a sack, tackle for loss, forced fumble, fumble recovery and interception in the same game, marks he hit in FSU's 58-13 win over North Alabama. The Magee, Mississippi, native returned his first interception of the season 30 yards for a touchdown in the 66-13 win over Southern Miss, and also grabbed an interception that ended Miami's final offensive drive in Florida State's 27-20 win.

Jones played in 12 games in both 2021 and 2022, combining for 41 tackles, 0.5 for loss, two interceptions and two pass breakups over those 24 games. His interception in the 2021 win at North Carolina came in the end zone and led to an FSU touchdown right before halftime that gave FSU an 11-point lead in an eventual 35-25 win. Jones also grabbed an interception in Florida State's 45-38 win over Florida in 2022.

Jordan Travis | QB | 5th Round (171st overall) | New York Jets

Travis played 46 games at Florida State and was 633-for-1,013 passing for 8,644 yards and 65 touchdowns while also compiling 1,910 yards and 31 touchdowns on 409 rushing attempts. The two-time all-conference performer ranks seventh on the ACC's career list for quarterback rushing touchdowns, 10th in touchdown responsibility, 11th in career passing efficiency and quarterback rushing yards and 13th on the ACC's list for total offense. He is Florida State's all-time leader in total offense, touchdowns responsible for, quarterback rushing yards and quarterback rushing touchdowns. Travis broke FSU's career touchdown responsibility record on his game-winning touchdown pass in overtime of the 31-24 victory at Clemson and took over the program's career total offense record on his go-ahead rushing touchdown in Florida State's 38-20 win over No. 16 Duke.

The 2023 ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, Travis was 207-of-324 passing for 2,756 yards and 20 touchdowns with only two interceptions while adding 176 yards and seven touchdowns on 73 rushing attempts. He was the only player in the ACC and one of two nationally with 20 passing touchdowns and two or fewer interceptions and led the ACC in passing efficiency, yards per pass attempt and fewest interceptions thrown, the second-lowest total among quarterbacks nationally with at least 200 attempts. He ranked second in the conference in passing yards per game and yards per completion and ranked third in the ACC in points responsibility per game, total offense per game and completion percentage. Travis was the first player to lead the ACC in passing efficiency in back-to-back seasons since Trevor Lawrence in 2018-19.

Travis is the only player in FSU history with at least seven rushing touchdowns in four straight seasons, and his 31 career rushing touchdowns are fourth on FSU's career list. He tied with Winston for second in FSU history with 65 career passing touchdowns and is the only player in program history ranked in the top-10 in career passing and rushing touchdowns. Travis also ranks second on FSU's all-time career lists for passing yards and wins as a starting quarterback while standing third in completions and completion percentage.

The West Palm Beach, Florida, native was prolific at putting points on the scoreboard. He produced a program-record streak of 16 straight games accounting for multiple touchdowns and tied his own school record with a streak of four consecutive games with at least one rushing and one passing touchdown. Travis also produced a streak of 22 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass and also produced a stretch of 184 consecutive passes without an interception, the fifth-longest in FSU history and 13th-longest in ACC history. He had an active streak of 126 passes without an interception at the time of his season-ending injury and is the only player in program history with two streaks of at least 120 passes without an interception in the same season. Adding a streak of 120 passes in 2021, he is the only player at Florida State with three different streaks of at least 120 passes without an interception in a career.

Johnny Wilson | WR | 6th Round (185th overall) | Philadelphia Eagles

Wilson spent two All-ACC seasons at Florida State and started all 23 games he played after transferring before the 2022 season. He ended his collegiate career with 102 receptions for 1,757 yards and eight touchdowns. Wilson holds the Cheez-It Bowl record with 202 receiving yards in FSU's 35-32 victory over Oklahoma in 2022. His receiving yards total, which came on a career-high eight catches, also broke FSU's program record for receiving yards in a bowl game and was the 13th-highest single-game receiving yards total in program history.

In 2023, Wilson led the Seminoles in receiving yards in seven of the 10 games he played, including two 100-yard outputs, and was a third-team All-ACC selection. He registered a season-high 105 yards on four catches in the win at Boston College and totaled 104 yards on a season-best seven catches in FSU's season-opening 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU. Wilson tied his single-game career-high with two receiving touchdowns in the 39-17 win over Virginia Tech and led FSU in receiving with 94 yards on five catches in the 31-24 victory at Clemson. He also posted team-high receiving totals in wins over Miami and No. 16 Duke.

Wilson made 43 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, earning second-team all-conference honors. The Pacoima, California, native showcased his big-play ability throughout the year as he led the ACC and ranked third in the country with 22 catches of at least 20 yards. His average of 20.86 yards per catch ranked second in the conference and fifth nationally, and he ranked in the top-four in the ACC in 60-yard, 50-yard, 40-yard and 30-yard catches. His receiving yards total was seventh-best in the ACC in 2022. Wilson caught seven passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns in FSU's 35-31 win at Louisville, a total that included all 79 yards on the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter as he made a 69-yard reception and then caught a 10-yard touchdown that tied the game at 28-28 before making the game-winning touchdown catch with 7:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Jaheim Bell | TE | 7th Round (231st overall) | New England Patriots

Bell caught 39 passes for 503 yards and two touchdowns and added one rushing touchdown on four carries during the 2023 season. He was a second-team All-ACC performer who appeared in the first 13 games of the year with nine starts. In his FSU debut, Bell made two catches for 49 yards and one touchdown and had a four-yard rushing score during Florida State's 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU, becoming the first FSU player with a rushing and receiving touchdown in a season opener since 2000.

The Lake City, Florida, native registered a career-best eight receptions for 53 yards in FSU's 38-20 win over No. 16 Duke and totaled a season-high 87 yards on four receptions in the 41-3 win over Syracuse. His receiving yards total against the Orange was the highest by a Florida State tight end since Nick O'Leary in the 2014 ACC Championship Game. Bell led the Seminoles with five catches in a win at Boston College and also made five receptions in the win at Pitt. Over his four-year collegiate career, Bell totaled 95 receptions for 1,260 yards and nine touchdowns.

Tatum Bethune | LB | 7th Round (251st overall) | San Francisco 49ers

Bethune was a three-time all-conference performer who appeared in 61 games with 37 starts. He made 339 tackles, including 28.0 for loss with 7.5 sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and 10 pass breakups between his time at Florida State and UCF. He joined the Seminoles for the 2022 season and was an All-ACC honoree in both of his seasons in Tallahassee.

In 2023, Bethune was a third-team All-ACC selected after he led FSU with 70 tackles, a total which included 5.5 tackles for loss, and also made one interception, three quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. He helped shut down No. 14 Louisville's best chance to take the lead with an interception in the end zone on 3rd-and-9 as FSU held a 10-6 lead in the fourth quarter of the ACC Championship Game. The Cardinals never got past their own 32-yard line the rest of the way in FSU's 16-6 victory. He began the season with a game-high nine tackles in Florida State's 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU.

Bethune made 84 tackles, 9.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry in 2022. His 14 tackles, which included a career-high-tying 2.5 tackles for loss, at NC State tied for the highest single-game output in the ACC that season. He also made a game-high 11 tackles in FSU's 45-38 victory over Florida and made a career-high 1.5 sacks in the 41-16 win over Georgia Tech.

*Press release courtesy of Florida State Athletics

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