UPenn transfer Joey Slackman has been described as a “football guy” by many of his teammates and coaches since arriving on campus in the spring. The 2023 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year finished with 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and four sacks last season. Slackman brings talent, experience, and competitiveness on and off the field to a Gators’ defensive line that’s looking to make major strides under new assistant coach Gerald Chatman.
“He fits the mold of character that we stand for,” Chatman said on Slackman during spring camp. “He’s disciplined. He’s probably in my office right now waiting for me to watch the film, watch this practice. But he brings that work ethic and it’s good to have him part of the unit. On the field he’s high effort, attention to detail, and he’s working technique and he’s getting better.”
Slackman ranked as the 49th overall transfer this offseason and has already established himself as a leader inside the locker room, despite being the new guy on campus.
“I’m a Joey Slackman guy,” Head Coach Billy Napier told the media on Saturday afternoon. “I think Joey brings a maturity and an awareness. I think he’s extremely bright. And he’s motivated, he’s driven, he’s a self-starter and he’s an alpha. I think he does a great job. He brings other things besides being a 6-3, 315-pound athlete to the table. This is his sixth year of college athletics.”
The 6’3.5, 300-pound graduate student spent two years wresting at UPenn, which requires a lot of the same physical tools you are looking for from your defensive lineman. Slackman displays a high motor on the football field, using quick and explosive hands to disrupt offensive lineman, as well as the strength required to overpower his opponent.
“He brings it. He’s consistent. His motor’s always running and I think he has the ability to affect other people,” Napier said on Slackman. “That’s one of the reasons we brought him here. And look, I think our players one of the things we did in this cycle, if you go back to the beginning, throughout the portal process is we included our current team in those evaluations. I think that that worked. I think that our players had conviction about adding him to the team. And ultimately, he’s done a good job.”
The biggest question mark surrounding Slackman was how he was going to adjust to the speed of the SEC coming from a much lower level of competition in the Ivy League. This doesn’t appear to be a problem according to multiple players and coaches.
“I think he’s adjusting great,” Chatman said on Slackman adjusting to the SEC. “Like I said, he has the right mentality. You go out there and he tests the physicality, he’s holding his own, he’s making plays and he’s just working. He’s just working.”
Slackman’s teammate Caleb Banks shares a similar message.
“He was trying to be a leader as soon as he came in,” Banks said on his Slackman. “He caught on quick though, like very, very quickly.”
Billy Napier was asked to share a story about Joey Slackman. His response: “I got a little training camp ritual, I get in the cold tub after practice, right? So I go in here, and Joey, he did a cannonball into the cold plunge. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
Between cannonballs into the cold plunge, smelling salts before morning runs, and walking around barefoot in the weight room, Joey Slackman may just be the perfect level of psycho that this Gators’ defensive line needed. I’m buying into the Joey Slackman stock.