Jabari Zuniga seeks to add significantly to his 15.5 career sacks in the final season of his college career. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)
SEC Media Days: Jabari Zuniga Q&A
Friday, July 12, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Not everything has gone the way Jabari Zuniga expected.
In fact, some of the details become foggy when Zuniga, Florida's highly-touted defensive end, is asked to reflect on his college career as he prepares for his final season with the Gators.
In the case of his first position coach, Zuniga gets a free pass. Sure, they met to discuss football, talked about Zuniga's potential, but they didn't get to know each other the way Zuniga figured they would.
"Actually, what's his name? The guy that they hired and then he left and went to the NFL,'' said Zuniga, who turns 22 on Aug. 14, 10 days before the Gators face Miami in the season opener. "I forgot his name. That was crazy."
Put on the spot, Zuniga's inquisitor needed a moment, too. Finally, the name of Terrell Williams surfaced from the depths of long-term memory.
You may recall that when Zuniga committed to the Gators in late January 2015, Williams had just been hired by former coach Jim McElwain to coach UF's defensive line. Arriving after a three-year stint with the Oakland Raiders, Williams was on the job a month when after National Signing Day, he departed for a job with the Miami Dolphins.
More than four years later, Zuniga is on his fifth position coach (Williams, Chris Rumph, Robb Akey, Sal Sunseri and David Turner) while Williams is entering his second season as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans.
The NFL is where the 6-foot-4, 257-pound Zuniga, ranked 29th the annual Freaks List compiled by Bruce Feldman of TheAthletic.com (subscription site), is projected to be next season. He opted to return to school as a fifth-year senior to put the finishing touches on his UF experience.
"Everything is just happening so fast,'' he said. "I'm supposed to be out of here. Luckily, I get another chance to improve myself on the field and in the classroom. Right now, I'm just trying to embrace everything. Really, in about five to six months, my college career is over."
Zuniga – nicknamed "Bear" by his mom growing up in Marietta, Ga. – has been a regular in the lineup since recording a pair of sacks in his college debut against UMass in the 2016 season opener. He has 15.5 career sacks and will join teammates Feleipe Franks and Lamical Perine on Monday as Florida's player representatives at the 2019 SEC Football Media Days in Hoover, Ala.
As the Gators attempt to continue moving toward the top of the SEC in head coach Dan Mullen's second season, Zuniga factors prominently into the plans as one of the league's top defensive linemen. Here is our Q&A with Zuniga:
Q: What does it mean to you to represent the team for the first time at SEC Media Days?
A: It's special, being one of the guys that Coach Mullen wants to represent the program. It really means a lot because it just tells you how much he looks at you to lead the team. It's a very special feeling.
Q: What did linebacker David Reese tell you about the event?
A: It's media day, man, there's a lot of interviews. But it's a good time though. That's the one thing he did say. You get to fly on a private jet. You get to experience things that a lot of people don't really get to experience.
Q: Best break you've had since the end of last season?
A: I took a trip to Daytona with my girlfriend. We got a little two-day vacation. That was kind of nice.
Q: What's your mindset for the season opener against the Hurricanes?
A: Honestly, I've been hearing a lot of junk being talked. I think we are ranked eight or nine [in preseason], and a lot of people feel like we don't really deserve that ranking. We've just got to come out with a chip on our shoulder and just show everybody that we're deserving of that ranking.
Q: What has been your focus in terms of development this summer?
A: Really, I feel like I have developed my chest enough but my lower body is what I'm really focused on. I'm trying to get more explosive, more powerful, so when I'm in nine technique or when I'm in a five technique, it's fairly easy for me to set the edge. I'm really just trying to get my power up.
Q: When you look at where you are as a senior, how does that line up with expectations when you arrived at UF?
A: Coming in, actually I didn't really put all my focus in football. I got a scholarship, but at the same time, I was more focused on a degree. But coming in toward my junior year, I kind of felt like I could do something with football. That's when I started putting more effort into it. It's really on from here. I've just got to keep grinding and stay focused and I feel like all of my dreams and aspirations can come true.
Q: When are you scheduled to have your religion degree?
A: In December.
Q: Coming from a religious background, do you see yourself using your degree in any specific way after football?
A: I see myself using it but I don't really know what lane I want to take right now. Really, I come from a religious family and I just wanted to learn more about all religions, not just necessarily mine.
Q: What's the most memorable sack of your career?
A: Probably the LSU sack [last season]. It was the fourth quarter and I think there were like two minutes to go and I sacked them when they tried to hurry up. And then B Stew [Brad Stewart] got the interception. That was probably the biggest game since I've been here.
Q: Now that you've had some time to work with defensive line coach David Turner, what makes him unique?
A: He's a technician. Every day before practice, when we are doing the punt drills and all of that, we do hand drills … we just work every move that you can work. He's just a real technician.
Q: What's your early scouting report on the defensive line?
A: We got some young talent. I feel confident. We lost a lot of guys, but also have a lot of guys that people don't know about that can do special things. People are going to see. They are going to see Zach [Carter] making plays. They are going to see T.J. [Slaton] making plays. They're going to see Marlon [Dunlap Jr.] making plays. We've got a lot of talent in that room.
Q: What is your comfort level as a leader of the room?
A: Coming in, you had guys like [Jonathan] Bullard, Alex McAlister and even Cece [Jefferson]. Even though he was so young, he stepped up in that leadership role. Now I've just got to carry it over and teach the young guys.
In fact, some of the details become foggy when Zuniga, Florida's highly-touted defensive end, is asked to reflect on his college career as he prepares for his final season with the Gators.
In the case of his first position coach, Zuniga gets a free pass. Sure, they met to discuss football, talked about Zuniga's potential, but they didn't get to know each other the way Zuniga figured they would.
"Actually, what's his name? The guy that they hired and then he left and went to the NFL,'' said Zuniga, who turns 22 on Aug. 14, 10 days before the Gators face Miami in the season opener. "I forgot his name. That was crazy."
Put on the spot, Zuniga's inquisitor needed a moment, too. Finally, the name of Terrell Williams surfaced from the depths of long-term memory.
You may recall that when Zuniga committed to the Gators in late January 2015, Williams had just been hired by former coach Jim McElwain to coach UF's defensive line. Arriving after a three-year stint with the Oakland Raiders, Williams was on the job a month when after National Signing Day, he departed for a job with the Miami Dolphins.
More than four years later, Zuniga is on his fifth position coach (Williams, Chris Rumph, Robb Akey, Sal Sunseri and David Turner) while Williams is entering his second season as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans.
The NFL is where the 6-foot-4, 257-pound Zuniga, ranked 29th the annual Freaks List compiled by Bruce Feldman of TheAthletic.com (subscription site), is projected to be next season. He opted to return to school as a fifth-year senior to put the finishing touches on his UF experience.
"Everything is just happening so fast,'' he said. "I'm supposed to be out of here. Luckily, I get another chance to improve myself on the field and in the classroom. Right now, I'm just trying to embrace everything. Really, in about five to six months, my college career is over."
#SECMD19 Lineup: 💯
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🐊 @18franks
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Zuniga – nicknamed "Bear" by his mom growing up in Marietta, Ga. – has been a regular in the lineup since recording a pair of sacks in his college debut against UMass in the 2016 season opener. He has 15.5 career sacks and will join teammates Feleipe Franks and Lamical Perine on Monday as Florida's player representatives at the 2019 SEC Football Media Days in Hoover, Ala.
As the Gators attempt to continue moving toward the top of the SEC in head coach Dan Mullen's second season, Zuniga factors prominently into the plans as one of the league's top defensive linemen. Here is our Q&A with Zuniga:
A: It's special, being one of the guys that Coach Mullen wants to represent the program. It really means a lot because it just tells you how much he looks at you to lead the team. It's a very special feeling.
Q: What did linebacker David Reese tell you about the event?
A: It's media day, man, there's a lot of interviews. But it's a good time though. That's the one thing he did say. You get to fly on a private jet. You get to experience things that a lot of people don't really get to experience.
Q: Best break you've had since the end of last season?
A: I took a trip to Daytona with my girlfriend. We got a little two-day vacation. That was kind of nice.
Q: What's your mindset for the season opener against the Hurricanes?
A: Honestly, I've been hearing a lot of junk being talked. I think we are ranked eight or nine [in preseason], and a lot of people feel like we don't really deserve that ranking. We've just got to come out with a chip on our shoulder and just show everybody that we're deserving of that ranking.
Q: What has been your focus in terms of development this summer?
A: Really, I feel like I have developed my chest enough but my lower body is what I'm really focused on. I'm trying to get more explosive, more powerful, so when I'm in nine technique or when I'm in a five technique, it's fairly easy for me to set the edge. I'm really just trying to get my power up.
Q: When you look at where you are as a senior, how does that line up with expectations when you arrived at UF?
A: Coming in, actually I didn't really put all my focus in football. I got a scholarship, but at the same time, I was more focused on a degree. But coming in toward my junior year, I kind of felt like I could do something with football. That's when I started putting more effort into it. It's really on from here. I've just got to keep grinding and stay focused and I feel like all of my dreams and aspirations can come true.
Q: When are you scheduled to have your religion degree?
A: In December.
Q: Coming from a religious background, do you see yourself using your degree in any specific way after football?
A: I see myself using it but I don't really know what lane I want to take right now. Really, I come from a religious family and I just wanted to learn more about all religions, not just necessarily mine.
Q: What's the most memorable sack of your career?
A: Probably the LSU sack [last season]. It was the fourth quarter and I think there were like two minutes to go and I sacked them when they tried to hurry up. And then B Stew [Brad Stewart] got the interception. That was probably the biggest game since I've been here.
Q: Now that you've had some time to work with defensive line coach David Turner, what makes him unique?
A: He's a technician. Every day before practice, when we are doing the punt drills and all of that, we do hand drills … we just work every move that you can work. He's just a real technician.
Q: What's your early scouting report on the defensive line?
A: We got some young talent. I feel confident. We lost a lot of guys, but also have a lot of guys that people don't know about that can do special things. People are going to see. They are going to see Zach [Carter] making plays. They are going to see T.J. [Slaton] making plays. They're going to see Marlon [Dunlap Jr.] making plays. We've got a lot of talent in that room.
Q: What is your comfort level as a leader of the room?
A: Coming in, you had guys like [Jonathan] Bullard, Alex McAlister and even Cece [Jefferson]. Even though he was so young, he stepped up in that leadership role. Now I've just got to carry it over and teach the young guys.
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