Jake Slaughter
American football player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jake Slaughter (born December 12, 2002)[1] is an American college football center for the Florida Gators.
Ocala, Florida, U.S.
| No. 66 – Florida Gators | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Class | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 12, 2002[1] Ocala, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 308 lb (140 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Florida) |
| College |
|
| Awards and highlights | |
| Stats at ESPN | |
Early life
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, leading the drive for other Gator offensive linesmen to return to the program.[8][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.
