Over the next four days, Gator Country will preview the players that make up the 2013 Florida Gators football team as we inch closer and closer to the season.
Each day we will count down using the player whose jersey number corresponds with how many days there are left until Florida kicks off against Toledo in The Swamp on August 31.
Today we take a look at senior defensive lineman Damien Jacobs.
History
Jacobs played his high school football at H.L. Boureois in Gibson, Louisiana. Coming out of high school, Jacobs committed to Florida State but ended up at East Mississippi Community College when he failed to qualify at Florida State. He spent two seasons at the JUCO level before transferring to Florida in 2012. He chose Florida over Tennessee. Jacobs played in a reserve role last season but was serviceable when given the opportunity.
Player Evaluation
Strengths
At 6’3” and under 300-pounds, Jacobs doesn’t have the prototypical size to play nose tackle but he makes up for it with his strength and bull rush. Jacobs gets off the ball well for a player of his size. Most of the time, he plays with good leverage when taking on blockers and uses his hands very well. Jacobs is also a very solid tackler.
Weaknesses
At times, he can get a little high out of his stance. Jacobs can struggle to handle double teams and sometimes disappears on film. He needs to do a better job of remaining active the entire play and fighting through double teams.
What to Expect
Damien Jacobs went into the spring as the backup nose tackle but came out of that camp as the starter over Leon Orr. Jacobs was slowed with an injury this fall and was surpassed by Orr on the depth chart but that doesn’t mean he won’t get playing time – and a lot of it.
Will Muschamp has said that he doesn’t like his defensive linemen to play more than 6-to-8 consecutive snaps and keeps a very fluid rotation on the defensive line. Jacobs will get plenty of opportunity to play and could even takeover the starting job at nose tackle before the season is over.