The Florida Gators added their third commit in the 2021 class in the last seven days, flipping three-star Ocala center Jake Slaughter from the Florida State Seminoles on July 24.
Slaughter announced the change in plans on his Twitter account.
Staying home‼️🐊🐊🐊 #chompdown21 pic.twitter.com/hkJDm3wMTy
— Jake Slaughter (@JakeSlaughter5) July 24, 2020
Playing his prep football for Trinity Catholic, the 6-foot-4-inch, 300-pounder played a pivotal role in the Celtics finishing 8-4 in 2019 and advancing to the Region 1-3A Semifinals, earning first-team All-County honors from the Ocala Star-Banner in the process.
He originally committed to Mike Norvell’s Seminoles on April 13 after receiving his offer on July 27, 2019, the same day he attended a camp in Tallahassee.
Primarily recruited by co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach John Hevesy and linebackers coach Christian Robinson, Slaughter becomes the 21st pledge in the upcoming cycle for the Gators and the fourth offensive lineman, joining Orlando’s Javonte Gardner, Independence (Kansas) Community College’s Deyavie Hammond, and Lynn Haven’s Adrein Strickland, all fellow three-stars.
Stone Mountain, Georgia’s George Jackson, another three-star who committed to Florida way back on November 27, 2018, is no longer listed as a member of the program’s 2021 class on 247Sports, so this story is worth monitoring moving forward.
Slaughter fills a position of need for the program, too. Brett Heggie, a redshirt senior, is the projected starter at center this fall, followed by redshirt freshman Kingsley Eguakun, who saw action in two games a year ago.
Overall, the FSU flip is the 19th-highest-rated member of the Gators’ class and the tenth-highest on the offensive side of the football.
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