Podium No. 4 represented prime real estate at the NFL scouting combine Wednesday morning. Reporters jockeyed for space and shouted questions over one another as linebackers and defensive linemen kicked off the first day of player media availability.

Perhaps by design to accommodate the extra foot traffic, each of the draft’s top pass rushers — Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Florida State’s Jared Verse and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu — took their turns on podium No. 4, creating a pseudo-gravitational pull to the corner of the first-floor exhibit hall at the Indiana Convention Center off Capital Avenue.

The frenzy reinforced the obvious: aside from quarterbacks, edge pressure is the most important factor for NFL teams. The 2024 draft offers plenty. In Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest ESPN big board, four pass rushers are named in his top 25 (Turner, Latu and Verse coming in at 10th, 14th and 21st, respectively). Kiper projected Turner to be the first selected at eight overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Yet, multiple teams have a need at the position, including the Chicago Bears at No. 1.

Latu and Turner were linked before. Each was named a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award for college football’s best player. Both also said they’ve met with the Falcons. Along with Verse, each of their paths to the pros swerve through Indianapolis this week for drills and meetings with teams. Their performances in both can make millions of dollars worth of difference come draft night in Detroit on April 25.

Just behind the stage while they spoke, NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” aired on television. League veteran Kyle Van Noy projected Turner as the “talk of the week” when it was all said and done. For Turner, getting exposure on a national stage is nothing new. Turner arrived in Tuscaloosa with a five-star prospect designation in the summer of 2020.

When he arrived at 260 pounds, a byproduct of having nothing to do during the pandemic, he said, coaches told him he needed to lose the “baby fat” shown with his chubby face and belly. By the national championship, Turner said he dropped down to 225 pounds before throwing more weight on his 6-foot-4 frame.

He played at 245 pounds as a sophomore, starring in UA’s cheetah package with Chris Braswell and Will Anderson — whom the Houston Texans picked third overall last spring. He settled at 255 as a junior, totaling a career-high 11 sacks.

“That’s probably the best weight I could move at for real for real. I felt powerful,” Turner said. ” … I could tell the difference in the strength, power and explosiveness.”

Last October, Turner and personal “sack sensei” Javon Gopie met virtually every Monday to create pass-rush plans, a tactic commonly used at the pro level. As Gopie told AL.com, Turner received the “Steph Curry treatment” surrounded by talent in South Florida being coached by Hall of Famer Jason Taylor at St. Thomas Aquinas and others. Verse, on the other hand, reached the combine on a drastically different path.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Verse didn’t receive any FBS offers coming out of high school, which he attributed to his smaller stature at the time, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. He settled at Albany, an FCS program, and recorded 14.5 sacks in 15 games before transferring to FSU. The Seminoles “changed” his life, with the staff offering tips on small details like how his foot should be arched on a rush. At FSU, Verse added 13 more sacks and two blocked kicks to his ledger.

“I have respect for everyone in this class. All these guys are hardworking guys. I don’t feel like there’s anything athletic that separates me from those other dudes. There’s dudes out here that are fast. There’s dudes out here that are strong. I think the only thing have over all these guys is that I had to earn was my hard-working ability,” Versee said. “Being at Albany was something that made me get that.

“(Being the first edge drafted would) mean the world. At the end of the day, I was never supposed to be in this position. I wasn’t even supposed to be at Florida State. I was never supposed to be standing here in front of you today.”

Like Verse, Latu faced an unclear future before becoming a blue-chip prospect. In 2021, Latu had to medically retire due to a neck injury. But Latu didn’t waver and his mom, Kerry Latu motivated him with quotes and country songs, his favorite. A year later he was cleared and transferred to UCLA where he became a unanimous All-American and produced a Pac-12-leading 13 sacks.

Latu said that teams haven’t asked about the neck injury. Instead, they’ve gotten to know each other better like in his “great” meeting with Atlanta, where he talked them through his euro chop technique. Last year, the Falcons drafted running back Bijan Robinson from Texas at eighth overall. They eventually agreed to a $12.97 million signing bonus. Latu was mocked by Kiper to the Philadelphia Eagles at 22nd overall — a slot that netted receiver Zay Flowers a $7.2 million immediate payout.

“Being told, ‘You’re never going to play football again,’ I never let it get the best of me,” Latu said. “I continuously worked out, continuously got stronger, continuously worked on my pass rush moves and stuff like that. … I had dreams of being in this moment, being in the NFL, since a kid and I never gave up on that. God was with me through it all.”

It’s unclear which of them will participate in drills Thursday night in Lucas Oil Stadium or opt for their school’s pro day. As Texas general manager Nick Caserio joked, however, the combine is less about the drills and more about learning the stories of each player. Turner, Verse and Latu each have a tale worthy of the stardom that awaits.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].