LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jared Verse came as advertised in his debut season for the Los Angeles Rams, offering explosive pass rush prowess en route to AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
After totaling 77 pressures, 11 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks last season, the outside linebacker isn’t worried about a sophomore slump.
“I don’t really feel too much pressure,” Verse said Tuesday after practice during organized team activities. "If I’m who I am, if I take the strides needed to take, I’m going to be the best version of me, and I’m going to be able to help the team in any facet or way that they need."
Verse already has one year of dealing with immense expectations under his belt. Drafted 19th overall in 2024, the Florida State product had to handle the belief he would help the Rams to navigate the retirement of eight-time All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
The pass rush was able to do just that, but Verse said it came from a collective effort rather than his or any other individual performance. Verse, fellow Seminole rookie Braden Fiske and second-year standouts Kobie Turner and Byron Young combined for 28 1/2 sacks and 43 tackles for loss in the regular season.
It took time for Verse and Fiske to recognize fully integrating into the defense required more than working off one another the way they had in college.
“I think we did good, but I think we became more so focused on helping the team than trying to do our own thing and have a good little duo going on,” Verse said. “But I think we kind of have learned the opportunities that we have to work together.”
Combined with Verse’s improved understanding of how quickly the game moves in the NFL as the season went on, he closed out the campaign with a fumble return for a touchdown in an NFC wild-card round win over the Minnesota Vikings and two sacks and three tackles for loss in a six-point divisional round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
“The number one thing you hear is how much faster the game is at this level versus college,” Verse said. “Everybody’s always like, ‘Oh, it’s not.’ The hell it is, man. You’re thrown in that fire, nah, it’s a lot faster. Yeah, it was surprising, but once I got the hang of it, it became just like college, it became just like high school, slowed down a lot more.”
Verse already feels well ahead of where he was at this time last year. He was determined to make the most of a full offseason without having to prepare for the draft or handle the uncertainty that comes with going through everything for the first time.
That included a full review of all of Verse’s game film from last season. The study allowed him to see how many chances he missed out on as a rookie.
“Probably the biggest thing I realized was how many sacks, not even just sacks, but big plays I missed out on,” he said. “You know, dropping in coverage I could have done this, or rushing the passer could have done that. Even in the run game a couple times, there’s a couple things where I’m a little too far inside, a little too far outside, and I could have made a big impact play. So realizing that this really is a game of inches, whether it’s just like stopping the ball or actually just doing your job, there’s a couple things I could have done better.”
All those steps, along with continued development from his work with outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio and defensive line coach Giff Smith, were evident to defensive coordinator Chris Shula in Verse’s work during practice.
“You can tell he’s really taken the techniques that Joe and Giff are really teaching him and applying them on the field,” Shula said. “And I think things have slowed down for him a little bit, and he’s playing really fast right now.”
Verse has one more week of work in Southern California before the Rams hold their mandatory minicamp in Maui. The loquacious Verse is looking forward to a return visit after vacationing there for first time earlier this year, but don’t expect to see him wading out in the Pacific Ocean during his free time.
“I don’t know what's out in that water,” Verse said. “I’m good.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) looks on during warm-ups prior to the NFL divisional playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) reacts during the NFL divisional playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
ACEH TAMIANG, Indonesia (AP) — Emergency crews raced against time on Friday after last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides that struck parts of Asia, killing more than 1,500 people. Relief operations were underway, but the scale of need overwhelmed the capabilities of rescuers.
Authorities said 883 people were confirmed dead in Indonesia, 486 in Sri Lanka and 185 in Thailand, as well as three in Malaysia.
Many villages in Indonesia and Sri Lanka remained buried under mud and debris, with nearly 900 people still unaccounted for in both countries, while recovery was further along in Thailand and Malaysia.
As the waters recede, survivors find the disaster has crippled their villages’ lifelines. Roads that once connected the cities and districts to the outside world are severed, leaving some areas accessible only by helicopter. Transmission towers collapsed under the weight of landslides, plunging communities into darkness and causing internet outages.
In Aceh Tamiang, the hardest-hit area in Aceh province, infrastructure is in ruins. Entire villages in the lush hills district lie submerged beneath a thick blanket of mud. More than 260,000 residents fled homes once on green farmland. For many, survival hinges on the speed of aid as clean water, sanitation and shelter top the list of urgent priorities.
Trucks carrying relief supplies crawl along roads connecting North Sumatra’s Medan city to Aceh Tamiang, which reopened almost a week after the disaster, but distribution is slowed by debris on the roads, said the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
An Associated Press photojournalist described widespread devastation in Aceh Tamiang after flash floods tore through the area, with cars overturned and homes badly damaged. Animal carcasses are scattered among the debris. Many residents are still haunted by the 2004 tsunami that devastated Aceh and killed around 230,000 people globally, with 160,000 in Aceh alone.
On a battered bridge spanning the swollen Tamiang River, families found shelter under makeshift tents of bed sheets and torn fabric.
A survivor there, Ibrahim bin Usman, cradled his grandsons on the muddy ground where his home once stood. He recounted how floodwaters full of logs hit his house and the houses of his children and his siblings, forcing his family of 21, including babies, to cling to the roof of a warehouse before being evacuated by a small wooden boat by fellow villagers.
“Six houses in my family were swept away,” he said. ”This wasn’t a flood — it was a tsunami from the hills. Many bodies are still buried under mud.”
With wells contaminated and pipes shattered, the floodwaters have turned necessities into luxuries.
Resident Mariana, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians, broke down in tears when recalling how she survived as water surged into her village on Nov. 27. “The water kept rising, forcing us to flee. Even at higher ground, it didn’t stop. We panicked.”
The 53-year-old widow said she and others eventually reached a two-story school, but survival was grim: there was no food or clean water. "We drank floodwaters after letting it settle and boiling it. Children drank it too," said Mariana, whose home was flattened.
A clothing trader in the village of Kampung Dalam, Joko Sofyan, said residents had no choice but to drink the same water that destroyed their homes as they waited for aid, causing children to fall ill.
“My house is just rubble now,” said Sofyan, a father of two. ”We need food, medicine, and clean water urgently.”
While some relief has trickled in, survivors say they need household equipment to cook food.
Frustration is mounting: “Why isn’t there a public kitchen? We have nothing left,” shouted Hadi Akher to the crowd as rescue workers struggled to maintain order among long lines of hungry villagers near a truck full of aid supplies.
Akher, who was bare-chested like most men in flood-hit areas due to lack of clothing, blamed deforestation for worsening the disaster, accusing local officials of corruption.
“This deadly floods happened because too many officials here are corrupt," he said, causing the crowd to grumble.
Karmini reported from Jakarta. Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed reporting.
A survivor holds a cat as he walks at an area devastated by flash flood in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Survivors carry relief goods at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Survivors take shelter at a makeshift hut at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
A survivor carries relief goods at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
A survivor carries a bag of salvaged items at an area devastated by flash flood in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
