Gators DL Jabari Zuniga Rushes Onto Scene
Thursday, September 8, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
Redshirt freshman recorded two sacks in first college game.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They arrived at UF at the same time, joining the Florida program in the summer of 2015 as members of head coach Jim McElwain's first signing class.
From there, CeCe Jefferson played well enough to crack the defensive line rotation as a true freshman while Jabari Zuniga did not. Zuniga redshirted and focused on reconstructing his 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame.
Zuniga focused so much on losing what he called "baby fat" and replacing it with muscle that defensive line coach Chris Rumph grew concerned when Zuniga told him he was down to 230 pounds. Zuniga eventually put the weight back on through intense training, which prompted more concerns from Rumph.
"I have a rule: he cannot take his shirt off in front of my wife,'' Rumph said. "I mean this guy is yoked up. So if my wife's around, his shirt is on. I don't need any pressure."
Zuniga flexed those muscles in his Florida debut against UMass, collecting a pair of sacks.
Not that Jefferson was surprised.
A few days before the opener Jefferson was asked how Zuniga was coming along in preseason camp.
"Jabari, he's the silent assassin. He's that guy,'' Jefferson said. "He's not going to say too much. He's a quiet killer, but once he gets on that field, it's over. I like that guy to break out this year."
Might be time to ask Jefferson to pick some lottery numbers. He nailed Zuniga's debut.
A defensive end out of Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., Zuniga has the tools to fill a key void for the Gators. With the departure of Alex McCalister, Rumph entered the season with questions about who would emerge as a potential elite rusher on the edge.
One game in, Zuniga is at the front of that race.
"I'm proud of this guy,'' Rumph said. "He's mature for a freshman. He showed some flashes in the spring. I wanted to see him show some flashes in camp. I wanted to see if he could consistently be that guy or if it was just a flash."
Zuniga turned that flash into production his first time out. Can he keep it up? Zuniga's four tackles against the Minutemen matched Jordan Sherit for the team lead among defensive linemen.
"We're going to need that from him this year and some other guys are going to have to step up as well," Rumph said.
