Coming from a town of just 94 people, it was humble beginnings for Florida center Jake Slaughter. An inside look at his road from Sparr to an All-American.
Highway 441 winds through rolling hills of horse and cattle farms as it crosses from Alachua into north Marion County.
Take a left on County Road 329 and you will pass North Marion High School, more cattle pastures and enter the town where Florida football All-American center Jake Slaughter grew up.
Sparr, with a population of 94 per the latest U.S. Census, is an unincorporated community in Marion County, less than 30 miles from The Swamp, where Slaughter dreamed of playing for the Florida Gators from a young age.
“There was never a doubt in his mind he was gonna play football,” said Slaughter’s father, Jack Slaughter. “Arguing with a 5-year-old with a decision about that is kind of cool, actually. He was very, very determined.”
Parents Jack and Andrea Slaughter made their son wait until he was 8 before he started playing in the Marion County Youth Football League at the nearby North Marion High fields. But growing up in Sparr made Jake Slaughter appreciate the outdoors and the activities that came with it. In the backyard behind Slaughter’s house, which Jack describes as “a mini–Payne’s Prairie” there's a creek, a pond and an abundance of wildlife.
“It’s one of those special things,” Jake Slaughter said. “I remember dad getting home from work, hey you’re gonna grab a fishing pole, we’re gonna go fish until dinner is ready. You know it’s a special place I got to grow up in and it really does mean a lot to me.”
Why Florida football center Jake Slaughter’s family settled in Sparr
Jack Slaughter played football at North Marion HS before going on to play both guard and center at Tennessee-Martin. When Jack returned to Marion County, he envisioned Sparr as an ideal place to raise a family. Jake was the second of Jack and Andrea’s three children, between an older sister (Annie) and a younger sister (Allie).
“I had lot of friends in that area,” Jack said. “When Jake was a very young child I was working in Gainesville, living in Ocala, so that was kind of a neat area. I loved it, it was a good midway point for my career so I could work in Gainesville and Ocala so, the kids could go to school, my wife could work in either market, we just kind of landed there because it was in the middle.”
Jack continued his career at Sherwin-Williams Paint Store while exposing his children to all that nature had to offer, including taking Jake on trips to a hunting lodge in Southwest Georgia.
“You aren’t going to make your kids take up a hobby, but with all three of my children, I wanted them to have that exposure to the hunting, the fishing, just enjoying the outdoors, have some appreciation for wild spaces,” Jack said. “In my mind there’s cities everywhere, there’s not a woody rural area all over the place that people have access to, in my mind that kind of made him a little more well-rounded.”
There were chores in the backyard as well, which taught young Jake the value of hard work.
“You learn a little about yourself when dad puts in a big garden and he tells you to go out there and pull all the weeds,” Jake said. “You trim the trees, the big oak trees in the backyard, and alright, I trimmed them, you pull them down to the burn pile, you spend two days pulling limbs across the yard to go throw them on the burn pile. There’s a little lesson in toughness and grit there.”
How Florida football C Jake Slaughter developed in Marion County
Jake played in the MCYFL through middle school, where his dad coached him. He can still recall some of the top players he faced, including Jyron Gilmore, who went on to star at North Marion High and is now a defensive back at Georgia Tech.
Jack also coached Jake’s teams in middle school.
“His big thing was always toughness,” Jake said. “The technique is always going to change and at the end of the day you listen to the coach where you’re at. When he was my coach, I listened to him … it was always hard work, it was the grit. He was one of my favorite coaches ever.”
Jake could have attended North Marion High with his friends but instead chose to stay at Trinity Catholic High in Ocala after going to Blessed Trinity School from first through eighth grade. There, he was coached by former UF quarterback John Brantley III and played on an offensive line that included three future FBS players — tackle Caleb Johnson (Notre Dame then SMU), guard Garner Langlo (Auburn then Appalachian State then Troy) and guard Tommy Kinsler (Miami).
“Nothing surprises me about what he’s able to accomplish,” Brantley told the Gainesville Sun. “That’s why I’m so happy for him now and he’s reaping the benefit of all of the work that he’s put it at a younger age and everything and the first people you’ve got to give credit to is his parents. They gave the all the opportunities the advantages of going out and supporting that young man to do what he wanted to do.”
Brantley said Slaughter growing up in Sparr also contributed to his work ethic and toughness on the field.
“They call it north side pride,” Brantley said. “As a director of recruiting for Chaney Brothers, the food distributor here, besides being a coach, some of our best workers come out of the north side of Marion County, out of the Reddick, Sparr area. A lot of hard working, tough people.”
How Jake Slaughter became an All-American with Florida football
Slaughter was recruited by former UF coach Dan Mullen and redshirted his freshman season, appearing in just one game against Samford. When Billy Napier replaced Mullen as head coach in 2022, Slaughter spent his redshirt freshman season on special teams. Slaughter worked his way up the depth chart the following spring and fall camp, and when starting center Kingsley Eguakun was sidelined with a leg injury, Slaughter made his first career start in UF’s 2023 season opener at Utah.
It didn’t go well. Slaughter and the rest of UF’s offensive line were manhandled up front as Utah recorded five sacks in the 24-11 win over the Gators.
"Coach Napier, it was maybe six months ago, I remember it was him and I just hanging, we passed each other in the hall, he was laughing, 'Slaughter, I remember, how long was your face before the Utah game? I love you buddy, but I knew you were in for a long day.'” Slaughter said.
“It was one of those things it was a real learning experience and it is a reality check, you check yourself in the way you prepare, you check yourself in the way that you kind of shift your mindset going into a game, going into a practice, going into a walk through because you realize, it's your intent. Intent is everything in what you do to get ready for a game."
Slaughter went on to start eight of 12 games in 2023 and gradually improved, rating as the No. 14 center in the FBS with a 75.9 Pro Football Focus grade across 622 total snaps. Then came the breakout junior season in 2024, in which Slaughter started all 13 games and earned AP first-team All-American honors.
“I can remember the valuation workout we did with the team during bowl practice immediately upon arrival, and I wrote down that I felt like the guy had tools to be a really good player,” Napier said. “He's big, he's long, he's got power, and I think he can move. So, I think he had the traits to do it, I just think he needed to develop some confidence, and he just needed repetition.”
Off the field, Slaughter has maintained his country roots, inviting players over for fish fries and barbecue. He likes to cook.
“A couple weeks ago, I did a bunch of sausages,” Slaughter said. “I fried shrimp. I fried fish. I was fortunate enough get to go turkey hunting this spring a good bit, so I did some turkey nuggets for the guys. That’s the big thing, just having fun with your guys, getting to have guys over outside of the building, get to go hang out.”
At 6-foot-5 and 303-pounds, Slaughter is poised to lead an offensive line that returns four starters and continue to fulfill his dream to help lead UF back to prominence.
“The rising tide brings up all the ships,” Slaughter said. “Our sense of urgency is to play, we want to go every day and play our best ball, so we can help the team. I don’t know if we really focus on a ceiling or who we are or what we can be, but our big thing is we want to go play our best ball. We want to make sure the team is in a good spot because of it.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: All-American Florida football C Jake Slaughter takes pride in small town upbringing
Category: General Sports
