Joey Slackman: The Florida Gators Ultimate Football Guy

Defensive lineman Joey Slackman arrived with the Florida Gators as a transfer this year, and he's already building a solid reputation.

Florida Gators defensive lineman Joey Slackman is a "cannonball into the cold plunge" kind of guy. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

If one were to pick the Florida Gators’ ultimate “football guy” on its 2024 roster, new defensive lineman Joey Slackman would likely be the choice. 

Just ask head coach Billy Napier. 

“Well, let's put it this way. Last night, so 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,” he said.

Napier’s not the only one with a “Joey Slackman story” from fall camp either. 

“Before team run we were walking down to the stadium and he had the smelling salts in his hand, sniffing it, like, just sitting there, I was like, is he crazy? Nah, I personally can’t do that,” said defensive back Jason Marshall Jr. 

Energetic, alpha male, motivated and competitive are just a few of the words Gators coaches and players have used to describe Slackman during fall camp. However, it wasn’t something that came to him quickly as the “new guy” on the team.

“Obviously when I first moved in and started getting going with workouts, it was a little awkward just like it would be for any player, but I fit in pretty quickly and I like to think I’m a pretty authentic person and my teammates appreciate that for sure,” Slackman said.

Despite being described as the Gators’ most “football guy,” Slackman originally wasn’t a football player in college. As a freshman in 2019, he was a member of Penn’s wrestling team. He joined the football team ahead of the 2021 season.

“The team culture aspect I really missed a lot,” Slackman said. “I felt like I had achieved a lot individually in wrestling, and the way things had gone at the time, I was kind of in a little bit of a low place, especially during COVID was kind of when I made that decision. I was kind of just seeking a new challenge with it.”

From there, his career blossomed. After an honorable mention All-Ivy League season in 2022, he broke out in 2023 with 50 total tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss and four sacks, which led to him being named the Ivy League defensive player of the year.

After entering the NCAA Transfer Portal on Nov. 20, Slackman quickly became a hot commodity for programs looking to improve their defensive line rooms. The Gators came calling and earned a commitment on Dec. 17.

"I'm a Joey Slackman guy,” Napier said. “Look, 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… He's consistent. His motor's always running and I think he has the ability to affect other people. That's one of the reasons we brought him here.”

Napier further explained that while building this season’s transfer class, he included returning players in evaluating the targets. Slackman checked all the boxes, and his ability to be a vocal leader stood out, and it’s standing out now even before he’s played a game. 

“That's a guy that you always gonna see, no matter if you see him or hear him, you’re going to know he’s in the building,” said wide receiver Kahleil Jackson. “He has that physical presence, and then he’s more of a vocal leader, too.”

Entering his final year of collegiate eligibility, Slackman joins a defensive line unit that’s struggled to find consistency over the last few seasons. He’s expected to be heavily involved in the rotation at the three-tech defensive line spot, which Florida calls the “end.” 

Following a season-ending injury to nose tackle Jamari Lyons, there’s also the possibility he provides depth behind Cam Jackson in that spot.

“We don’t really look at it as anything other than we’re getting each other better, iron sharpens iron,” Slackman said. “That’s kind of how Coach Chatman worked our room from the very beginning, he talks about brotherhood all the time, our motto in our room is relentless, tough, and discipline, and I think we all embody that as a group and we’re all working to make each other better.”

Despite not having played a game for the Gators, the team is already seeing Slackman’s impact as the “crazy,” “alpha,” “smelling salts” guy.

He showed that in the offseason workouts, where he was named as one of the “Kings of the Swamp” due to perfect attendance and performance. Quarterback Graham Mertz saw it firsthand.

“You think about a thermometer. You want to be a person that walks in the room and kind of just goes with the flow or you want to go in there and set the temperature? And that's something that Joey does every day,” Mertz said.

Slackman may be a different breed in the Gators’ locker room, weight room and on the field but there’s a method to his madness and lessons to be learned from his actions. Take the cannonballs into the cold tub for example. 

“You’re either going to jump right into it or you’re going to dip your toe in, and I’m just trying to be a guy that just jumps right into it,” Slackman said. 

That willingness to jump into difficult situations, no matter the circumstances or consequences, sets a high standard for his teammates, including the veterans.

“He comes in every day ready to work, no matter if it’s a Friday squat day or Monday we’re running long sprints,” said linebacker Shemar James. “You know what you’re going to get with Joey. He brings that energy, and he brings guys up with him.”

Overall, the transition for Slackman coming from an Ivy League school to an SEC program has been quite extreme between the size of the university and the level of talent and competition on the field. Not to mention, the sheer culture shock of SEC football. 

In fact, the largest crowd he’s ever played in front of was the Gators’ spring game this year (48,000). His previous high was 12,000 while at Penn. 

He’ll be playing in front of a capacity crowd when Florida opens the season at home against Miami and will face his toughest competition yet with the nation’s hardest schedule ahead of him and the Gators. 

However, in true Joey Slackman fashion, it’s about challenging himself and not just proving the doubters wrong, but proving himself and his teammates right.

“That’s part of the reason why I came here. My whole life has really been about challenges, and this has been my biggest one yet, and I really can’t wait for it,” he said. “I think that’s really the emphasis on our team is that we accept that. Coach Nape always talks about running to the adversity every day after practice, and I think that I embody that, and that’s the reason why I came here, is I wanted to go against the best. I wanted to prove myself every week, and that’s what we want as a team.”