Alex Shepherd
Gators OL Kingsley Eguakun Stands Out to Senior Bowl Scouts Ahead of 2023
The Florida Gators 2023 season is still two months from kick-off, but that isn't stopping Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy from readying invites to bring draft-eligible prospects to Mobile (Ala.) in early February.
The Gators have been well-represented at the most prestigious bowl game for aspiring NFL draftees in recent years.
Following 2021, Florida running back Dameon Pierce produced in a draft-worthy fashion at the Senior Bowl to significantly elevate his stock en route to a fourth-round selection by the Houston Texans. More talent donning the recognizable orange helmet with blue script, O'Cyrus Torrence and Richard Gouraige, arrived to occupy spots on the offensive line during bowl week post-2022.
Both found homes with the Buffalo Bills at the next level.
Another member of the Gators' offensive trenches has caught Nagy's eye as his senior campaign quickly approaches: center Kingsley Eguakun.
On Tuesday, Nagy took to Twitter to express his interest in the heart of the Florida offensive line, labeling him as a player near the top of the stack of centers heading into the 2023 season.
Starting 26 consecutive contests for Florida over the past two seasons, Eguakun has served as the backbone of the offensive line, proving durable and reliable as it pertains to his availability. He's experienced his fair share of peaks and troughs as a player during that time, struggling to find his consistency gene from game to game.
Accordingly, his performance has served as a microcosm for the unit as a whole. The unit excels when he produces at a high level, and vice versa.
However, the skill set the Jacksonville, Fla., native possesses is clear. Equipped with a solid run-blocking prowess with the length, burst and strong hands to keep a quarterbacks jersey clean in pass protection, he has the intangibles needed to translate to the professional game smoothly if the necessary steps are taken in 2023.
Nagy's taken notice.
"[Eguakun] is good zone run game fit because he's quick out of his stance, stays attached working laterally, and productive at second-level," Nagy, a former NFL scout of 18 years, said in his tweet. "His long wingspan (811/4-inches) is also a huge benefit in pass pro for the center spot."
Eguakun returns in 2023 for year three as a starter — his second in the current system — to continue learning from Florida's "highly respected" duo of offensive line coaches, Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.
In his final season at UF, the veteran will look to build on his stout run-blocking game, improve pass protection and rid himself of the unnecessary mental errors (snap infractions) he's been penalized for frequently in raucous away environments.
If he can clean up those areas, Eguakun could elevate the Gators' offensive production significantly — opening holes for Florida's dynamic ball-carrying duo Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne in the run-heavy scheme implanted by Billy Napier beginning in Dec. 2021 and creating a clean pocket for expected starting signal caller Graham Mertz.
By doing so, he could also earn a coveted opportunity to raise his draft stock in Mobile on Feb. 3, 2024.
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