4/27/2023 football Edit

The Battle's End helping FSU build for NFL Draft future instead of present

FSU defensive end Jared Verse is one of a number of Seminoles who decided to return in 2023 instead of declaring for this year's NFL Draft.

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

There won’t be much Florida State representation in this year’s NFL Draft.

This is expected to be the third time in the last four years that no FSU player is taken in Thursday night’s first round. And it’s quite possible that two-time All-ACC safety Jammie Robinson is the only FSU alum taken in this year’s seven-round draft, which is being held in Kansas City.

The reason behind that has changed somewhat, however. Whereas much of FSU’s falloff in NFL Draft production over the last few years has been related to the team’s underwhelming on-field results, this year’s lack of FSU players can be attributed to a much more positive reason.

Prominent FSU NIL collective The Battle’s End launched in December with a focus on active roster retention and did exactly that, persuading a few draft-eligible Seminoles who would have likely been drafted to run it back for one final season in Tallahassee.

Instead of FSU having as many as five or more players taken in this year’s draft, Robinson could be the only one. And while TBE doesn’t want to take full responsibility, even CEO Ingram Smith can’t deny the collective’s role.

“Certainly we have played a role in that…” Smith told the Osceola. “Now there needs to be a locker room that these guys want to go back to and a coaching staff that they're confident they're gonna continue to be developed by. By no means are we the only equation here, but we can help kids with that equation a lot and help to take out some of the risks at play, definitely.”

The Battle’s End website states the collective has partnered with over 60 FSU athletes in a variety of sports. The collective’s Twitter account has announced deals with over 40 members of the FSU football roster, a number of whom very well could have declared for this year’s NFL Draft had they not been able to sign NIL deals under the new law, which went into effect in July of 2021.

The most obvious of these Seminoles is All-ACC defensive end Jared Verse. The Albany transfer easily could have left after his first season with the Seminoles and would have been a second or maybe even late-first-round pick. Because of NIL and TBE, he’s able to make money while returning and trying to further boost his draft stock into the top 20 or possibly even the top 10.

“One big reason I did come back was to get better. It wasn't anything major. I wasn't trying to get faster or stronger, which I do want to do, but it was the smaller things, the things that other people would see when they really focus up on the film (that) not everyone is going to see. That's something I really focus on…” Verse said after FSU’s spring showcase of his decision. “On the team aspect, I came back to see us all get better as a whole team…I just came to see us all get better and that's exactly what I saw (this spring). I'm happy I came back. So happy.”

While Verse was going to be drafted highest of all returning players, there are quite a few other FSU players who returned for the 2023 season and likely would have been drafted in this year’s draft had they declared. Defensive tackle Fabien Lovett, wide receivers Johnny Wilson and Mycah Pittman, linebackers Kalen DeLoach and Tatum Bethune, quarterback Jordan Travis and defensive back Akeem Dent all may have heard their names called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Instead, they’ll be back with the Seminoles chasing the program’s first ACC Championship since 2014 and possibly even more than that. That’s what NIL has allowed, creating the opportunity for players who wouldn’t be high draft picks – or might not be draft picks at all – to make money while staying in college.

That money can go a long way beyond purely compensating the players. It can go towards their children, like in the case of Lovett, or their older relatives.

“The most impactful, the most meaningful personal experiences that I've had through this has been what I've heard about the impact that it has on players’ parents, grandparents,” Smith said. “This is not an insignificant amount of money that we pay out. This is not wild, lifestyles of the rich and famous or something like that, but this amount of money still means a big damn deal to a lot frequently more than just the kid.”

For those players on that long second list who weren’t surefire picks in this year’s draft and wouldn’t have gone in the first few rounds if they did declare, deals with The Battle’s End also provide a chance for them to be compensated while betting on themselves with the chance to boost their stock.

“If a guy feels metaphorically slept on, there's not a whole lot of ways to go about the process better than coming back, having the year that you think is going to open everybody's eyes to what you're fully capable of doing and receiving an amount of money that certainly helps to alleviate a lot of concerns with the player,” Smith said.

Smith sees these gap years of sorts as a new normal in the college football landscape when it comes to draft decisions. In the pre-NIL days, quite a few more draftable Seminoles may have declared this year, leading to an average crop of FSU players in this year’s draft and an average crop in next year’s.

Now, FSU’s 2024 Pro Day may be one of the most attended of the draft cycle with a potential first-round edge rusher, a potential first-round wide receiver in Wilson, a quarterback in Travis who could see his draft stock improve if he lives up to his 2023 Heisman hype and a number of additional Seminoles who could see their draft stock improve over the next 12 months.

Robinson’s potential landing spots

There are a few other draft-eligible Seminoles who could hear their names called this week, including offensive linemen Dillan Gibbons and Jazston Turnetine, wide receiver Ontaria Wilson and tight end Camren McDonald.

However, none of the four full mock drafts cited in this story have any additional Seminoles being drafted. Instead, each of them may have to settle for being undrafted free agents and getting training camp invites in order to try to earn their spots.

Robinson is being projected as either a day-two pick or a pretty early pick on day three, which consists of the fourth through seventh rounds.

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter has Robinson going 100th overall near the end of the third round to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Pro Football Focus also has Robinson going in the third round, but 75th overall to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Robinson going in the middle of the fourth round to the Cleveland Browns with the 126th overall pick.

Finally, ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has Robinson going 145th overall in the fifth round to the Carolina Panthers.