Throughout the years, Florida has been known to field some of the top pass rushing units in the country. A season ago the Gators recorded 38 sacks as a team, which was second best in the conference. However, they lost their best edge rusher from a year ago in Alex McAllister. The Philadelphia Eagles rookie was tied for first on the team with 6.5 sacks during the 2015 season.
With the loss of McAllister, the Gators are pressed with the challenging task of filling in the gaping hole, on the edge of the defensive line. Many believed CeCe Jefferson would step in nicely as a sophomore, but with him moving inside the Gators are still on the hunt to find their next elite edge rusher.
“One of the things going into the season, you look at the roster and we really don’t have an elite rusher off the edge like we had last year with Alex in the games he was in. So we’re worried, how are we going to get the edge pressure?,” Florida Gators defensive line coach Chris Rumph said Wednesday at his press conference.
While on the search, they might have found their guy in redshirt freshman Jabari Zuniga. “I’m proud of this guy,” Gators defensive line Rumph said, “He showed some flashes in the spring, wanted to see him show some flashes in camp.”
He certainly flashed his talents in The Swamp on Saturday night against the Minutemen of UMass. Zuniga, a former three-star prospect from Sprayberry High School (Marietta, GA), had two solo tackles during the first three quarters, and then came alive in the final quarter.
With Florida extending their lead from three to six early in the fourth, it was the defense who had to deliver another clutch stop. On first and ten on the ensuing drive, Zuniga swallowed the quarterback in the backfield to begin the drive. Not only was this Zuniga’s first career sack, but it was a momentum killing play that left the Minutemen a second down and long 15 from their own 10 yard-line.
William Shackelford, Zuniga’s high school football coach, spoke proudly of his former player, “You know, you watch these young men grow from boys to men. It’s very similar to the feeling you’d as a parent. Just pride. You’re excited for them.”
Later in the quarter, with just over six minutes remaining, UMass’s offense was beginning to move the ball. But with a clutch effort, on a third and ten on their own 38, Zuniga dropped the Minuteman quarterback for the second time and forced an UMass punt.
With all his success in his first Gator game, for Zuniga, it wasn’t the easiest route to find playing time as a Gator. Even though Rumph called him ‘very mature’ as a freshman, he never solidified himself in the defensive line rotation, calling for a redshirt.
In the spring, Zuniga wasn’t even in the right shape to play. “I actually said ‘man, you’re losing weight. You’ve got to get this weight on,” Coach Rumph said on Wednesday. Zuniga was determined to put weight on, but in a healthy, strong frame. Quickly, he moved up to 250 pounds of pure muscle, looking better than ever.
Shackelford later added he’s noticed the weight change and new build on Zuniga, “I can see his physique has cleaned up. He’s also getting a lot bigger even, and is capable of putting more clean weight on him.”
Coach Rumph is very intimidated by Zuniga’s new frame, “If you’ve ever seen this guy with his shirt off, I have a rule: He can not take his shirt off in front of my wife. I mean this guy is yoked up. My wife’s around, his shirt is on.”
Jabari Zuniga is a name many Gator fans may become aware of in the near future if he keeps up the stellar play. When asked about if Zuniga has the skill set to become the next great pass rusher at Florida, Coach Shackelford responded, “Absolutely.”
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