2018 Football Roster
Roster
Jachai Polite
- Position:
- DL
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 242
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Daytona Beach, Fla.
- High School:
- Mainland
Finished his career with 78 tackles, 26.5 tackles-for-loss, 15.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and four pass break ups in 32 games playedโฆ Became the fourth Gator in history with at least eight career forced fumbles, joining Clifford Charlton (15 โ1984-87), Guss Scott (11 โ 2000-03), and Alex Brown (9 โ 1997-2001)โฆ 2018: Declared for the NFL Draft following the seasonโฆ Appeared in all 13 games and started fiveโฆ Recorded 45 tackles on the season and led the team with 17.5 TFL, 11 sacks and six forced fumblesโฆ Led the FBS and tied Charltonโs 1986 single-season school record with six forced fumblesโฆ One of two players in the country to record at least five forced fumbles and 10-plus sacksโฆ Fell just 0.5 tackles-for-loss shy of tying Alex Brownโs 1999 season for the 10th-highest single-season total in school historyโฆ He and his teammate Jabari Zuniga became the first pair of Gators with at least 11 tackles-for-loss in a season since the trio of Jon Bullard (17.5), Antonio Morrison (12.0) and Jarrad Davis (11.0) all reached that mark in 2015... They are also the first pair of Gators defensive linemen to reach that total in a season since Jaye Howard (12.0) and Justin Trattou (11.0) did it in 2010โฆ Earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors following Floridaโs win at Mississippi State after he recorded three tackles, two sacks and one pass breakupโฆ Garnered Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week following UFโs win at FSU when he totaled six tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacksโฆ Named a Semifinalist for the Bednarik Award Semifinalistโฆ Picked up First Team All-SEC honors from the leagueโs Coaches, AP, Athlon Sports, ESPN and Phil Steeleโฆ Garnered Third Team All-America accolades by Phil Steeleโฆ Earned Second Team All-America honors by the APโฆ 2017: Played in seven games and recorded four starts prior to suffering a season-ending injury against Georgiaโฆ Totaled 22 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and six quarterback hurriesโฆ ย Ranked sixth on the team in tackles-for-loss and was one of three players to force a fumbleโฆ Registered a career-high six tackles in the season-opener against Michiganโฆ Had one sack, one forced fumble and three quarterback hurries against Vanderbiltโฆ 2016: Played in 12 games throughout the season as a reserve defensive linemanโฆ Totaled 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumbleโฆ In his collegiate debut against UMass, Polite recorded one tackleโฆ Recorded a season-best two tackles against Missouri, Alabama and Iowaโฆ Had his best game on the season in UFโs SEC opener against UK as he tallied his first-career sack and forced fumble.
ย
PRIOR TO FLORIDA:
Led his team to an 11-2 record as a senior and a berth in the Class 6A Regional Finals... Senior Season: 10 tackles (6 solo), four sacks, 1 fumble recovery... Junior season: 81 tackles (43 solo), 13 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 7 passes deflected... Named Class 6A Second Team All-State as a junior at in 2014... Played for Coach Scott Wilson.
