Redshirt junior center Jake Slaughter is ready for the challenge this Saturday as Florida football heads to Jacksonville to play the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs.
Slaughter, playing in his fourth season with the Gators, is the veteran of this offensive line and leads the line in most offensive snaps this season with 425.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Slaughter is ranked seventh in the country among centers in pass blocking with a grade of 85.4. His offensive grade of 77.9 puts him at No. 8 on the list of centers in the nation.
In the Gators’ last game, a home victory against the Kentucky Wildcats, Slaughter had the best PFF run block grade among the team’s offensive line with a 70.5.
Slaughter spoke with the media on Wednesday night and this is what he had to say leading up to the matchup with the Bulldogs.
The challenge of Georgia’s defensive front
“So they’re very multiple. That’s always challenging. You know, we’re a rule-based organization from the bottom up, so you have rules for every type of front, everything they’re going to show you, but they move a lot. It’s a lot of backward plugs.
“They do a little bit of the defensive back stuff, you know, backfield rotating and plugging and playing…It’s challenging, and some you look forward to playing against.”
The improvement of the Gators offensive-line
“I think we’ve taken a lot of great steps forward. I think there’s certainly room to improve in all aspects of our game, but I think we’ve definitely made solid improvements. And, you know, like I said earlier, it’s cohesiveness as a unit. It’s gelling together. You know, then it also comes down to technique and fundamentals that we’ve continued to improve.”
Austin Barber’s toughness
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Austin Barber is one of the toughest guys in our room, and one of the toughest guys I know. He’ll play through about anything…It says a lot about him as a man, as a football player.”
Loves playing with DJ Lagway
“DJ’s (Lagway) just fun to play with man. You know, every time he drops back, there’s potential for him to just make some unreal throw. So, yeah, that plays a lot in the belief. And I don’t want to leave Graham (Mertz) either.
“He’s (Lagway) a lot of fun to play with here. He’s got some swag to him. You know, we look up to him. He proved he can do it, so there’s no doubt in DJ. And he knows he’s got some, you know, some juice behind him.”
The challenges of establishing the run against Georgia’s linebackers
“Yeah, I mean, they’re good in the box. They’re really good. They’ve got linebackers…Well, you know, up front, they’re a good unit. So it’s like, anytime you’re playing against good players, you gotta go for good playing fundamentals and techniques across the board.”
How to watch Florida vs. Georgia
The Gators go up against the Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Jacksonville. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.
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