He started out as a wrestler at Penn. Defensive lineman Joey Slackman finish his Penn career as Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.
Slackman's next stop is Gainesville after he officially signed with the Gators on Wednesday morning.
Slackman started 18 games at Penn and finished with 115 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. He adds a veteran playmaker and leader on the defensive line.
Slackman announced his commitment to Florida over the weekend, capping a busy stretch for the 6-foot-3, 295-pound lineman.
"It's been the craziest two weeks of my life,'' Slackman told the Philadelphia Inquirer recently.
Slackman, a wrestling star at Commack (N.Y.) High, joined the Penn football team as a sophomore. He finished tied for second in the Ivy League with 12 tackles for loss last season, including four sacks.
"He is very, very coachable,'' Penn coach Ray Priore told the Inquirer. "He has been an incredible competitor. No matter what Joey Slackman does, he does it at 100 miles per hour."
Slackman wrestled as a freshman but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he returned home and earned money by working at a local deli. He developed an interest once again in football and walked on to the football team as a sophomore.
The rest is history as they say.
He is ready to play and be a leader for the Gators.
"When I called Coach Napier to let them know that I committed, that was something that he reiterated," Slackman told ESPN.com. "He just said, 'Look, we need guys that can come in and lead, not just play.' They went through a very diligent process in the portal."