FSU football announces which players will attend the 2023 ACC Kickoff
The annual ACC Kickoff, where coaches and players congregate in Charlotte to speak with the media ahead of the season, is set to take place July 25 through July 27 and on Tuesday, it was announced which Florida State Seminoles football players will be heading up to North Carolina alongside head coach Mike Norvell.
Quarterback Jordan Travis, defensive end Jared Verse and linebacker Kalen DeLoach will make the trip next week, fielding questions from the media that will likely surround the expectations swirling around Tallahassee this season.
DeLoach was one of the breakout stars of FSU’s defense last season, logging 65 tackles (7.5 for loss), 3 sacks, 7 pass breakups and 5 quarterback hurries, starting all 13 games for the Seminoles. Travis enters the 2023 season as a Heisman Trophy candidate after a 3,214 yards, 24 touchdown season, alongside 417 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Verse, a popular projected top-ten pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, logged 48 tackles, including 17.0 for loss with 9.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one blocked field goal in 2022 and was an first-team All-ACC selection.
Originally favorite the favorite to win the conference, FSU now has the second-highest odds to take home the ACC Championship with DraftKings slotting the Seminoles (+150) slightly behind Clemson (+145).
FSU remains a 2.5-point underdog to the Tigers, with that line having held steady since opening.
The sportsbook also currently has FSU with the 7th-best odds to win the 2023 national championship and has Florida State’s win total set at 10 wins.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s SP+ rankings have the Seminoles ranked No. 10, with the No. 19 offense and No. 14 defense — additionally, its simulations project the Seminoles’ average record as 9.3-6.4. Its FPI rankings, which have Florida State at No. 14, give FSU a 0.3% chance at winning the national championship (1.1% of making it), a 4.4% chance at making the playoffs, a 98.5% chance of reaching six wins, and a predicted finish of 8.7 - 3.5.
TALLAHASSEE – Florida State will be represented at the 2023 ACC Kickoff media event by head coach Mike Norvell, quarterback Jordan Travis, defensive end Jared Verse and linebacker Kalen DeLoach, it was announced Tuesday.
Travis enters the 2023 season as a Heisman Trophy candidate after a stellar 2022 campaign in which he led Florida State to its first 10-win season since 2016 and a Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma. Travis finished the 2022 season 226-of-353 passing for 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions while adding 417 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground as well as one receiving touchdown. He was PFF’s highest-graded FBS quarterback and the highest-graded offensive player in the ACC. He is the only player in program history with at least 20 touchdown passes and seven rushing touchdowns in a season, and his 32 touchdowns responsible for rank as the third-highest single-season total in program history. The West Palm Beach native became only the fourth player in FSU history – joining Heisman Trophy winners Jameis Winston, Chris Weinke and Charlie Ward – with at least 3,000 total yards and 30 total touchdowns in a season. His 3,631 yards of total offense ranked fifth on FSU’s single-season list, while his passing yards total was seventh, his passing touchdowns were tied for 10th and his completions were 14th.
Travis led the ACC and ranked third nationally with his average of 8.35 yards per play, ranked first in the conference and fifth in the country with an average of 9.10 yards per pass attempt, led the ACC and ranked eighth nationally with an average of 14.22 yards per completion and led the ACC and was 14th in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 160.1. His average of 247.2 passing yards per game, 24 total passing touchdowns and 64.0 completion percentage all ranked third in the ACC, while his 194 points responsible for and average of 279.3 yards of total offense per game were fourth in the conference.
Verse was named a first-team All-American by The Athletic after recording 48 tackles, including 17.0 for loss with 9.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one blocked field goal in his first season with the Seminoles. He received the most All-ACC votes on defense while being named a first-team all-conference performer. The Dayton, Ohio, native was the only player in the ACC and one of two Power 5 defenders nationally with four games of 2.5 tackles for loss in 2022.
Verse led the ACC and ranked 17th in the country with his average of 0.75 sacks per game, and his average of 1.4 tackles for loss per game was second in the conference and 10th nationally. He played 12 games and had at least 0.5 tackle for loss in every game he finished, including a season-best 2.5 in four different games. In FSU’s 24-23 win over LSU, Verse registered 2.5 tackles for loss, including a career-high-tying 2.0 sacks, and one blocked field goal. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, with 1.5 sacks, as part of a season-high seven tackles in FSU’s 35-32 Cheez-It Bowl win over Oklahoma.
DeLoach is in his fifth season at Florida State after signing with the Seminoles out of high school in 2019. He started all 13 games in 2022 and recorded 65 tackles, including 7.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks, seven pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. His pass breakups total was the highest on the team, and he also tied for the team lead in quarterback hurries. He ranked third among Seminoles in tackles and tackles for loss, and his sacks total was fourth on the team.
The Savannah, Georgia, native’s career-high-tying eight tackles in FSU’s Cheez-It Bowl win over Oklahoma included matching his career best with 2.0 tackles for loss. He recorded seven tackles, 1.0 for loss with 0.5 sack, and one pass breakup in Florida State’s win over LSU in New Orleans and also made seven tackles in the 44-14 win over Boston College while also adding a career-high two pass breakups against the Eagles. In his career at Florida State, DeLoach has played in 42 games with 25 starts and has recorded 144 tackles, including 14.0 for loss with 4.0 sacks, nine pass breakups and one interception.
Norvell was recently one of 21 coaches named to the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List as he leads a consensus top-10 team heading into the 2023 season following last year’s 10-3 campaign that included wins over SEC Western Division champion LSU, in-state rivals Miami and Florida, and a Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma. FSU was ranked 10th in the final Coaches Poll and 11th in the final AP poll. Florida State was the only team to lead its conference in both total offense and total defense and was one of two teams nationally to average at least 270 passing yards and 210 rushing yards per game. The Seminoles, along with Alabama and Georgia, were one of only three teams to rank in the top-15 in yards per play on offense and defense. Those three teams were also the only ones ranked in the top-20 in total defense, scoring defense, total offense and scoring offense.
Florida State led the country with an average of 7.46 plays of at least 20 yards per game and ranked second nationally with an explosive play differential of +7.41. The defense was fourth in the country in passing defense, and FSU was one of six teams nationally to rank in the top-25 in kickoff return and punt return average. Florida State led the ACC in passing defense, third-down offense, yards gained per pass, yards gained per play, yards gained per rush, total offense per game, yards per completion, yards allowed per pass, rushing offense per game, yards allowed per play, total defense per game and scoring offense per game.
This year’s ACC Kickoff expands to three days and will be held July 25-27 in Charlotte. Florida State takes its turn through the rotation on Wednesday, July 26. The Seminoles open their 2023 season in primetime on Sunday, Sept. 3, vs. LSU. Their season opener kicks off inside Camping World Stadium in Orlando at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
