Florida center Jake Slaughter arose as one of the unexpected stars for this Gators team last season. The 6’4.5 308-pound center ranked as the 9th best center in the FBS, scoring a 75.9 offensive grade in 12 games played including eight starts, according to Pro Football Focus.
Heading into this year, Slaughter is set to be the leader of this unit, which will be critical with the tough stretch the Gators have coming up this year. Florida’s schedule is loaded with top 25 opponents, and a week one rivalry game against the University of Miami.
“So the way I look at that is there’s always going to be a sense of urgency,” Slaughter told the media during fall camp. “It doesn’t matter if we’re going out there to play Miami game one or if we’re going to go play the Florida School of Deaf and Blind game one. There’s going to be a sense of urgency regardless. Being ready for the beginning half or the back half of the schedule isn’t something we consider I feel like. There’s always going to be a sense of urgency to play our best ball day one.”
Florida’s staff put an emphasis on rebuilding the offensive line through the transfer portal, adding two veteran tackles and a freshman guard.
“So Devon [Manuel] and Brandon [Crenshaw-Dickson], I feel like they’ve done a great job coming, they’re locker room guys, we love working with them, they love coming into work everyday. They’re fun to be around. I feel like they’ve come in and been accepted, obviously, and yeah they just come into work everyday. It’s fun, like I said there’s going to be a ton of healthy competition in the room.” Slaughter said.
The Gators also return starting left tackle Austin Barber, who is looking to bounce back in his redshirt junior season after playing through injuries in 2023.
“He’s a real tough guy,” Slaughter said on Barber. “Maybe he didn’t show it, but he was hurt. He was always banged up and he played through every bit of it until he couldn’t. That’s something I have a lot of respect for. He’s ready to come back, stay healthy, do what he can to stay healthy and play his best ball.”
As for Slaughter himself, he feels much more comfortable after having a year of significant playing time under his belt.
“I feel like I’m so much more comfortable,” Slaughter said. “It’s not a worry of what ‘oh we’re going out here to practice, I don’t want to mess something up’, it’s what can I work on today to get better. I also feel like the team as a whole has kind of changed over these past few years. I mean, even like locations change. It’s, there’s been a lot.”
Florida has also made necessary additions in other facets of the program including the new strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles.
“I’m going to try and make Coach Miles blush here,” Slaughter said on Florida’s strength and conditioning coach. “He came in and guys’ bodies have changed drastically. Guys have added hundreds of pounds of muscle and lost a ton of fat. I don’t have the offensive line numbers right here, but I’m sure he [Coach Miles] does. I feel like you’ve seen healthy body changes and guys are more mobile due to that. Guys feel strong, feel confident in the building.”
Florida’s S&C staff told Slaughter he had to be over 300 pounds before the 2024 season. The redshirt junior gained 13 pounds this offseason and currently stands at 6’4.5, 308 pounds.
Slaughter humbly discusses the team more than he does himself; he has bought into the idea of the offensive line being one unit not five individual players. This is what makes him a valuable leader for this team.
“Five equals one is the way we want to play ball on the offensive line,” Slaughter said. “It’s really ‘seven equals one’ if you count two tight ends and the quarterback makes it ‘eight equals one,’ but, you know, we say ‘five equals one’ because there’s five offensive linemen. It’s the way we want to play ball. We play together, we play smart, we play with great technique and the big thing there is terrific effort. That has kind of been our motto. We take a great deal of pride in it. It’s just our thing.”
This offensive line is attempting to revamp their image heading into the third season under Billy Napier. Florida needs to improve in both the run and pass protection. Heading into the year, PFF rated this offensive line unit 10th in the nation while Slaughter came in as the No.8 returning interior offensive lineman, according to PFF analyst Max Chadwick.
