Jake Slaughter
| Florida Gators – No. 66 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 12, 2002[1] Ocala, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 308 lb (140 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Florida) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Jake Slaughter (born December 12, 2002)[1] is an American football center for the Florida Gators.
Early life and high school
Slaughter attended Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Florida. He was rated as a three-star recruit and held offers from schools such as Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Arkansas and Utah.[2] Slaughter initially committed to play college football for the Florida State Seminoles before flipping his commitment to play for the in-state rivals Florida Gators.[3]
College career
Slaughter took a redshirt season in 2021, only appearing in one game for the Gators.[4] In 2022, he appeared in all 13 games, mostly on special teams.[5] In 2023, Slaughter appeared in all 12 games for Florida, while getting his first time as a starter, making eight starts at center over 622 total snaps.[6]
Heading into 2024, Slaughter was named a Team Captain. In 2024, Slaughter started all 13 games for the Gators and earned first-team all-SEC and first-team All-American honors.[6] Slaughter helped lead an in-season turnaround from 4-5 to 8-5, allowing only a single sack and quarterback hit over 800 snaps.[7]
Slaughter made the decision to return to Florida for his final year of eligibility[8], leading the drive for other Gator offensive linesmen to return to the program.[9] Ahead of the 2025 season, Slaughter was named the best returning offensive player in the SEC by PFF.[10] He was also named to the preseason All-American watchlist and Outland Trophy watchlist.
References
- ^ a b "Jake Slaughter Center Florida". nfldraftbuzz.com. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ^ Weiler, Curt (April 13, 2020). "2021 three-star center Jake Slaughter commits to Florida State". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Carroll, Brandon (December 16, 2020). "Offensive Lineman Jake Slaughter Signs With the Florida Gators". Florida Gators on SI. SI.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Goodall, Zach (February 28, 2024). "PFF Considers Florida's Jake Slaughter Among Nation's Top Returning iOL". Florida Gators on SI. SI.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Smajovits, Harrison (December 9, 2024). "Gators Jake Slaughter Earns First-Team All-SEC Honor". Florida Gators on SI. SI.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Bender, Corey (December 13, 2024). "Gators OL Jake Slaughter continues to rack up accolades". Gators Online. On3.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ "ESPN's 2024 All-America team: The top players at every position". ESPN.com. January 15, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ Rosenberg, David. "All-American center Jake Slaughter returning to Florida for senior year". Gators Wire. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ "'Makes everybody better': Florida offensive line benefitting from latest coaching staff additions". 247Sports. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ Wasserman, Dalton (July 22, 2025). "College Football: Best offensive, defensive player in every conference". PFF. Retrieved August 18, 2025.