Jake Slaughter (first-team), Austin Barber (first-team), Caleb Banks (second-team), Trey Smack (second-team), Rocco Underwood (second-team), DJ Lagway (third-team), Eugene Wilson III (third-team) and Tyreak Sapp (third-team) were chosen to be a part of the Coaches All-SEC Team preseason lists.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior offensive linemen Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber headline the eight Gators who were named members of the coaches preseason All-SEC Teams with earning first team honors. Caleb Banks, Trey Smack and Rocco Underwood followed closely with being named to the second team, with Smack earning a spot on the team with two special teams roles. Finally, DJ Lagway, Eugene Wilson III and Tyreak Sapp were all listed as members of the All-SEC third team.
Jake Slaughter │Offensive Lineman │R-Sr. │Sparr, Fla.
Earning his seventh first-team nomination, second for an All-SEC first team, Slaughter is gearing up for a strong final season with the Gators. After his performance in the 2024 season, leading the team in offensive snaps with 800 for the season and had a pass block grade of 83.9 according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also ranked Slaughter fifth nationally among centers for his offense grade of 81.1 and seventh in the country for his run block grade of 79.0. Slaughter led the team in PFF pass block, offense and run block grades.
Austin Barber │Offensive Lineman │R-Sr. │Jacksonville, Fla.
Barber brings in his second preseason All-SEC first-team nomination after being named to the media’s first-team selection following SEC Media Days in July. Barber also made the decision to return for a final season of football with the Gators. Working on the offensive line, Barber started all 13 games for the 2024 season and earned a Co-SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honor after his performance against Mississippi State, where he recorded his first collegiate touchdown and had a season best and team high PFF pass block grade of 85.6.
Caleb Banks │Defensive Lineman │R-Sr. │Detroit, Mich.
Banks earned his third preseason All-SEC second-team honors entering into his third season with the Gators. His 2024 performance allowed him to earn SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following the Ole Miss win in Week 13. Banks saw action in 12 games for the 2024 season and recorded 21 tackles (10 solo), seven tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Trey Smack │Place Kicker & Kickoff Specialist │Sr. │Severna Park, Md.
Smack earns his second preseason All-SEC second team nomination for both the place kicker and kickoff specialist positions. Smack has served as the team’s primary kicker since the middle of the 2023 season. Since then, Smack has been perfect on his PATs (point after touchdown) totaling 73 extra points for the Gators in two seasons and has made a total of 35 out of 42 field goal attempts including a 55-yard field goal against LSU last season. In the kickoff specialist position, Smack tallied 4717 yards on 76 kickoffs for the 2024 season.
Rocco Underwood │Long Snapper │R-Sr. │Lake Mary, Fla.
The 2024 Patrick Mannelly Award Winner (nation’s long snapper of the year) also earns his second All-SEC second team nomination. In 2024, Underwood served as Gators primary long snapper for the third year and played a total of 103 snaps and recorded three tackles.
DJ Lagway │Quarterback │So. │Willis, Texas
Lagway was named to the All-SEC third-team, earning his first All-SEC honor after not being chosen by the media following the SEC Media Days in July. Lagway started his collegiate career behind Graham Mertz, but stepped into the role of being the team’s starting quarterback following Mertz’s ACL tear at Tennessee last year. Lagway started in seven games and held a 6-1 record in those seven starts. He totaled 1915 yards on 115 of 192 passing (59.9%), 12 touchdowns and rushed 51 times for 101 yards. Lagway tied Chris Leak for the most wins a UF true freshman quarterback and led all FBS true freshmen with a154.9 passer rating and ranked third among all FBS passers with a 95.8 passing grade on deep balls.
Eugene Wilson III │Wide Receiver │ R-So. │Tampa, Fla.
Although Wilson only played in four games for the 2024 season, he is scheduled to pick up right where he left off his freshman year. During his four games in 2024, Wilson totaled 266 receiving yards and one touchdown across 19 receptions. His sole touchdown came against Samford for 85-yards which is the longest at UF since 2017.
Tyreak Sapp │Edge │R-Sr. │Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Sapp was a key part of the defense in 2024, where he led the team with seven sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss for a total of 48 yards across nine starts in 13 games. He also tied for the most forced fumbles with two and had a PFF grade of 90.4 which was the highest grade among all qualified Florida players, the eighth highest among all FBS edge rushers, the fifth highest among SEC edge rushers and is the highest for any Florida defenders since Jonathon Greenard in 2019.
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