Jabari Zuniga goes one-on-one with Georgia offensive lineman Andrew Thomas earlier this season. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Gators Get Zuniga Back as Final Game at Swamp Looms
Monday, November 25, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – He blasted from the gate with five sacks in his first five games at Florida. On Saturday when Florida State visits Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gators defensive end Jabari Zuniga will attempt to sprint across the finish line in his final home game.
A fifth-year senior, Zuniga has been slowed by a high-ankle sprain he suffered in the third game of the season Sept. 14 at Kentucky. Zuniga hasn't been the same since.
Prior to the injury, he had 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Since, he has missed six games and played sparingly in two others – losses against LSU and Georgia – registering 2.5 tackles for loss and no sacks.
The sight of Zuniga back on the field in cleats Monday night at practice gave defensive coordinator Todd Grantham a shot of adrenaline.
"We'll put him in the rotation and see how it goes,'' Grantham said.
When healthy, Zuniga is a disruptive force and a potential first-round pick. However, the 6-foot-4, 246-pound Zuniga has been unable to recover as quickly as expected after getting hurt on the third play of the Kentucky game. He missed the next three games and returned to the field at LSU before re-aggravating his left ankle. He then missed Florida's win at South Carolina but started the 24-17 loss to Georgia in Jacksonville on Nov. 2, dropping Bulldogs running back D'Andre Swift for a 5-yard loss on Georgia's second play.
Still not 100 percent, Zuniga was limited in the Georgia game and missed Florida's home win over Vanderbilt and road win at Missouri. With one regular-season game remaining and three weeks off, Zuniga's potential return Saturday on Senior Night at "The Swamp" has the Gators revved up.
"I feel for him,'' said teammate Jonathan Greenard, who also missed the South Carolina game due to injury and missed last season while at Louisville due to a hand injury. "I been in his shoes. Luckily, he's actually got to play a couple of games. I told him just look at the bright side of things. The fact that you're still able to come back and play, walk, able to strap it on during the season, just be thankful for that. But he's capable and he knows what he's got ahead of him. We both know it."
Zuniga has not spoken to the media since early in the season and has done most of his work in the trainer's room. Florida head coach Dan Mullen said Monday that Zuniga has been cleared to play Saturday when the Gators (9-2) host the Seminoles (6-5) in search of their first home win in the series since 2009.
Florida snapped a five-game losing streak to FSU last year with a 41-14 victory in Tallahassee. Zuniga had four tackles and one of the Gators' five sacks. He explored entering the draft after last season but following serious discussions with his mom and Florida's coaching staff, Zuniga opted to return to school.
He was listed as a late first-round pick by ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay at the start of the season. In his latest ranking of draft prospects, McShay has Gators junior cornerback C.J. Henderson ranked the No. 10 overall player available and Zuniga checks in at 65th overall.
While not the direction Zuniga intended to take, Grantham isn't concerned about his long-term prospects at the next level.
"He is going to be fine in time. He's a guy that's worked hard to get back,'' Grantham said. "There's one or two games that maybe he could have played, for example the Auburn game. I felt like with the guys that had practiced and we knew that were going to play the game, we would be fine and try to rest him for the next game. For him, it's just a matter of being patient, continue rehab and continue treatment, and when you are ready to play we'll put you out there and let you be part of our defense and be productive."
With 26 career starts, Zuniga is tied with Henderson among Florida's defensive players behind linebacker David Reese's 36 career starts. Despite his injury plagued senior season, Zuniga ranks first among all active Gators in career tackles for loss (35.4) and sacks (18.5).
In Zuniga's absence, Greenard (team-leading 12.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks) has emerged as the Gators' top playmaker on the defensive front. He is ready to have his partner in crime back Saturday as the Gators try to win back-to-back games against FSU for the first time since a six-game win streak in the rivalry from 2004-09.
"It's been great to see him out there and just to see him strapped up, you can see it on his face, he's excited to get back out there and especially against this team, where he can go out on Senior Day, it'll be a great thing for him,'' Greenard said.
A former basketball standout at Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., Zuniga redshirted his first season on campus in 2015. He then made a splash on a veteran UF defense as a freshman, becoming the first UF rookie since Huey Richardson in 1987 to record five or more sacks in a season.
His final season has been less than ideal. Still, Grantham knows potential when he sees it as a veteran defensive assistant in the NFL and at the collegiate level.
Zuniga has an opportunity to finish fast and furious – exactly the way he started.
"For him, it's probably frustrating in a sense that he put a lot of work in to have a productive year this year. It didn't really pan out but really that's not going to affect him moving forward because he has already put on tape the kind of player he is,'' Grantham said. "I think this is more just a testament of his wanting to be Gator, wanting to play on our defense and wanting to have a good year and helping us win. I think those are the things that are probably more disappointing to him than anything. I've been pleased with the way he has approached it.
"He's still been a good teammate."
A fifth-year senior, Zuniga has been slowed by a high-ankle sprain he suffered in the third game of the season Sept. 14 at Kentucky. Zuniga hasn't been the same since.
Prior to the injury, he had 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Since, he has missed six games and played sparingly in two others – losses against LSU and Georgia – registering 2.5 tackles for loss and no sacks.
The sight of Zuniga back on the field in cleats Monday night at practice gave defensive coordinator Todd Grantham a shot of adrenaline.
"We'll put him in the rotation and see how it goes,'' Grantham said.
🐊🐊... pic.twitter.com/GsaDXQN4M5
— Zuu (@JabariZuniga) January 5, 2019
When healthy, Zuniga is a disruptive force and a potential first-round pick. However, the 6-foot-4, 246-pound Zuniga has been unable to recover as quickly as expected after getting hurt on the third play of the Kentucky game. He missed the next three games and returned to the field at LSU before re-aggravating his left ankle. He then missed Florida's win at South Carolina but started the 24-17 loss to Georgia in Jacksonville on Nov. 2, dropping Bulldogs running back D'Andre Swift for a 5-yard loss on Georgia's second play.
Still not 100 percent, Zuniga was limited in the Georgia game and missed Florida's home win over Vanderbilt and road win at Missouri. With one regular-season game remaining and three weeks off, Zuniga's potential return Saturday on Senior Night at "The Swamp" has the Gators revved up.
"I feel for him,'' said teammate Jonathan Greenard, who also missed the South Carolina game due to injury and missed last season while at Louisville due to a hand injury. "I been in his shoes. Luckily, he's actually got to play a couple of games. I told him just look at the bright side of things. The fact that you're still able to come back and play, walk, able to strap it on during the season, just be thankful for that. But he's capable and he knows what he's got ahead of him. We both know it."
Zuniga has not spoken to the media since early in the season and has done most of his work in the trainer's room. Florida head coach Dan Mullen said Monday that Zuniga has been cleared to play Saturday when the Gators (9-2) host the Seminoles (6-5) in search of their first home win in the series since 2009.
Florida snapped a five-game losing streak to FSU last year with a 41-14 victory in Tallahassee. Zuniga had four tackles and one of the Gators' five sacks. He explored entering the draft after last season but following serious discussions with his mom and Florida's coaching staff, Zuniga opted to return to school.
He was listed as a late first-round pick by ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay at the start of the season. In his latest ranking of draft prospects, McShay has Gators junior cornerback C.J. Henderson ranked the No. 10 overall player available and Zuniga checks in at 65th overall.
While not the direction Zuniga intended to take, Grantham isn't concerned about his long-term prospects at the next level.
"He is going to be fine in time. He's a guy that's worked hard to get back,'' Grantham said. "There's one or two games that maybe he could have played, for example the Auburn game. I felt like with the guys that had practiced and we knew that were going to play the game, we would be fine and try to rest him for the next game. For him, it's just a matter of being patient, continue rehab and continue treatment, and when you are ready to play we'll put you out there and let you be part of our defense and be productive."
With 26 career starts, Zuniga is tied with Henderson among Florida's defensive players behind linebacker David Reese's 36 career starts. Despite his injury plagued senior season, Zuniga ranks first among all active Gators in career tackles for loss (35.4) and sacks (18.5).
In Zuniga's absence, Greenard (team-leading 12.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks) has emerged as the Gators' top playmaker on the defensive front. He is ready to have his partner in crime back Saturday as the Gators try to win back-to-back games against FSU for the first time since a six-game win streak in the rivalry from 2004-09.
"It's been great to see him out there and just to see him strapped up, you can see it on his face, he's excited to get back out there and especially against this team, where he can go out on Senior Day, it'll be a great thing for him,'' Greenard said.
A former basketball standout at Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., Zuniga redshirted his first season on campus in 2015. He then made a splash on a veteran UF defense as a freshman, becoming the first UF rookie since Huey Richardson in 1987 to record five or more sacks in a season.
His final season has been less than ideal. Still, Grantham knows potential when he sees it as a veteran defensive assistant in the NFL and at the collegiate level.
Zuniga has an opportunity to finish fast and furious – exactly the way he started.
"For him, it's probably frustrating in a sense that he put a lot of work in to have a productive year this year. It didn't really pan out but really that's not going to affect him moving forward because he has already put on tape the kind of player he is,'' Grantham said. "I think this is more just a testament of his wanting to be Gator, wanting to play on our defense and wanting to have a good year and helping us win. I think those are the things that are probably more disappointing to him than anything. I've been pleased with the way he has approached it.
"He's still been a good teammate."
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