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Shortly after Florida football redshirt junior center Jake Slaughter had his All-American brick unveiled in front of The Swamp on Friday, teammates joined him for a group photo.
Close to 20 attended the ceremony, including starting left tackle Austin Barber and former Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz.
“That was everything to me, man,” Slaughter said. “Having my guys, guys that I work with here every day, that was a big reason I did come back is because I just love being with my guys.”
Slaughter is the second Florida Gators offensive lineman to earn All-American honors in the three years under head coach Billy Napier, joining O’Cyrus Torrence, who is now blocking in front of Josh Allen as a starter for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs.
Per Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-5, 308-pound Slaughter, in 728 snaps, allowed one sack, one QB hit, six QB hurries and eight pressures while committing only three penalties. Per Pro Football Focus, Slaughter graded out as the top center in the SEC and UF’s top offensive player, best pass blocker and best run blocker.
Why Jake Slaughter will return to Florida football for his senior year
With those lofty accomplishments, Slaughter could have declared for the 2025 NFL Draft like teammate and former UF linebacker Shemar James. Instead, Slaughter opted to return for his senior year.
Slaughter said he got mixed grades in feedback from NFL teams during the predraft process in December.
“There were some that were pretty good, there were some that were all over the place,” Slaughter said. “I’m not a riverboat gambler by any means. I want it to be a sure thing. Like I said, a lot of the decision was, I wanted to come back and be with the guys and do something special.”
As one of four returning starters on UF’s offensive line, Slaughter said the goal is to improve as a unit in 2025 after…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-football-center-jake-slaughter-213151362.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2025-01-17 21:31:00
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