{"id":111552,"date":"2025-12-28T19:41:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T19:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111552\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T19:41:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T19:41:22","slug":"jared-verse-and-byron-young-are-inspirations-to-their-rams-teammates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111552\/","title":{"rendered":"Jared Verse and Byron Young are inspirations to their Rams teammates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jared Verse<\/a> was on the field running at the Rams\u2019 Woodland Hills training facility. Byron Young<\/a> was nearby working out in the weight room.<\/p>\n

When Rams coach Sean McVay<\/a> informed the two edge rushers that they had both been voted to the Pro Bowl, Young ran to meet Verse, and a celebration ensued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of weird the way we, like, hype up each other,\u201d Verse said, laughing heartily.<\/p>\n

The two players hugged and jumped in a circle. They tackled each other to the ground. Then they got to their feet and hugged again.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n

Gary Klein breaks down everything you need to know heading into Monday night\u2019s matchup between the Rams and the Atlanta Falcons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something you can\u2019t fake,\u201d McVay said. \u201cIt was one of those moments. … You step back and you say, \u2018these are the moments of why you do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Verse and Young have become a celebrated duo for a Rams team that is 11-4 heading into Monday night\u2019s game<\/a> against the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Verse, the 19th pick in the 2024 draft, is accustomed to receiving postseason honors.<\/p>\n

Last season, he had 4\u00bd sacks and was voted to the Pro Bowl. He also was named the NFL defensive rookie of the year.<\/p>\n

This season, he has become the focus of opponents\u2019 protection schemes, regularly drawing double teams. He earned Pro Bowl recognition despite having only 6\u00bd sacks, well behind the statistical leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, not getting the stats can be frustrating at times,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cSo to know that my impact\u2019s still being felt, it\u2019s a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young, a third-round pick in 2023, steadily improved his first two seasons before this season\u2019s breakout.<\/p>\n

He has 11 sacks, tied for ninth most in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d he said of making the Pro Bowl. \u201cAll the hard work the past few years, learning from my mistakes … and just taking a better approach to this offseason \u2014 I feel like it paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 6-foot, 4-inch, 265-pound Verse and the 6-2, 260-pound Young are a violent combination on the field, and a comical one off of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get on \u2018BY\u2019 for anything,\u201d Verse said. \u201cI saw him trip the other day and I clowned him for like two days.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t always fun and games.<\/p>\n

While coaches playfully refer to them as stepbrothers, Verse said the relationship goes deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018B.Y. is somebody that I genuinely talk to outside of here,\u201d Verse said. \u201cIf I have any problems in my personal life, me and him will be talking to each other. … That\u2019s somebody I genuinely count on.<\/p>\n

\"Rams <\/p>\n

Rams linebackers Byron Young, left, and Jared Verse come off the field after warming up before a game against the Arizona Cardinals in December 2024.<\/p>\n

(Wally Skalij \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m going through a tough time, I come to him and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Young: \u201cWe push each other to be better, hold each other accountable and I feel like that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verse and Young both have improved from last season, when the Rams advanced to the NFC divisional round before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

During training camp, Verse said that he spent the offseason studying the positive plays he made as a rookie, but also the ones he missed.<\/p>\n

With veteran outside linebacker Michael Hoecht moving on, Young focused during the offseason on improving his flexibility with Pilates workouts. He also vowed to assume more of a leadership role.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing it all pay off is really amazing,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

Verse and Young are part of an outside linebacker group coached by Joe Coniglio that also includes rookie Josaiah Stewart, Desjuan Johnson and Nick Hampton.<\/p>\n

Verse and Young, along with defensive linemen Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford, make up a formidable starting front.<\/p>\n

Verse\u2019s and Young\u2019s contributions go beyond sacks and quarterback pressures, defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the down-in, down-out play,\u201d Shula said, \u201chow they\u2019re affecting the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turner, like Young a third-year pro, has come on in the second half of the season to amass seven sacks. He said Verse and Young complement each other, aiding the entire line to work in tandem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re relentless,\u201d Turner said. \u201cTheir mentality helps us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart, a third-round pick from Michigan, playfully described Verse and Young as \u201ctwo knuckleheads\u201d who set an example with their work ethic and results.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen them put in the work since I got here and they have helped me along the way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While honored to be voted to the Pro Bowl, Verse and Young would much prefer to be preparing with the Rams for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara when the Pro Bowl Games are held that week in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

The Rams have clinched a playoff spot and they are currently seeded sixth in the NFC, with games against the Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals remaining.<\/p>\n

Verse and Young will continue to play off each other as the Rams make their postseason push.<\/p>\n

Verse is proud to share Pro Bowl recognition with Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople hype him up because of how many sacks he gets, the pressure and everything that he does,\u201d Verse said, \u201cbut to see the amount of work he puts in, to see it finally pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Young is proud to share it with Verse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince he got in the league, I feel like we\u2019ve been competing with each other,\u201d Young said. \u201cHe brings an energy to the team, and just making me be a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jared Verse was on the field running at the Rams\u2019 Woodland Hills training facility. Byron Young was nearby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[6448,10840,59820,6308,423,15276,773,48,52,51,3376,47,50,49,28259,12844,59818,10947,11588,59819,31703],"class_list":["post-111552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-byron-young","tag-comical-one","tag-field","tag-game","tag-hard-work","tag-jared-verse","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-last-season","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-offseason","tag-pro-bowl","tag-quarterback-pressure","tag-rams","tag-sack","tag-third-round-pick","tag-turner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}