Jabari Zuniga

Jabari Zuniga is an American football outside linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida.

Jabari Zuniga
New York Jets
Position:Outside Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1997-08-14) August 14, 1997
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:253 lb (115 kg)
Career information
High school:Sprayberry High School
(Marietta, Georgia)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 3 / Pick: 79
Career history
Roster status:Unsigned draft pick
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life and high school

Zuniga grew up in Marietta, Georgia and attended Sprayberry High School. He originally only played basketball at Sprayberry and did not starting playing football until his junior year.[1] Rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports.com, Zuniga initially committed to play college football at NC State.[2] He de-committed and eventually chose to attend the University of Florida over Arkansas.[3]

College career

Zuniga redshirted his true freshman season. He played in all 13 of the Gators' games with three starts as a redshirt freshman, recording 25 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss and a team-best 5.0 sacks with 11 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.[4] As a redshirt sophomore, Zuniga made 34 tackles, 8.0 tackles-for-loss, four sacks in ten games played (six starts). He started all 13 of Florida's games the following season and finished the year 45 tackles and finished second on the team with 11.0 tackles for loss along 6.5 sacks.[5] Zuniga was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week for Week 3 after recording 2.5 sacks against Colorado State.[6] He initially contemplated forgoing his final year of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL Draft, but ultimately decided to return to Florida for his redshirt senior season.[7]

Zuniga entered his redshirt senior season as a preseason first team All-SEC selection. He was named to the watchlist for the Chuck Bednarik Award midway through the season.[8] Zuniga suffered a high ankle sprain against Kentucky, causing him to miss the next two games, and then re-injured his ankle Georgia and missed the final four games of the regular season.[9] He returned to play in the 2019 Orange Bowl and finished the season with 14 tackles, 7.0 tackles for a loss and 3.0 sacks.[10]

Professional career

The New York Jets selected Zuniga with No. 79 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[11]

References
  1. Watnick, Landon (June 18, 2015). "Getting to Know: Jabari Zuniga". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  2. "Jabari Zuniga Turns on the Red Light". BackingThePack.com. SB Nation. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  3. English, Antonya (January 27, 2015). "Gators get commitment from 4-star DE". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  4. "Gators' Jabari Zuniga pegged an edge rusher to watch in 2017". Palm Beach Post. July 21, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  5. Andreu, Robbie (August 10, 2018). "UF's defensive line has what it takes to be elite in SEC". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  6. Alderman, Blake (September 17, 2018). "Gators Jabari Zuniga named SEC defensive lineman of the week". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  7. Alderman, Blake (January 5, 2019). "Jabari Zuniga to return for senior season at Florida". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  8. Goodall, Zach (October 11, 2019). "Gators pass rusher Jonathan Greenard named to Bednarik Award watch list". SI.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  9. Andreu, Robbie (December 16, 2019). "Dan Mullen said Monday that defensive end Jabari Zuniga will return for Florida's Orange Bowl matchup with Virginia". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  10. Goldkamp, Thomas (February 7, 2020). "Eight Florida players to participate at the NFL Combine". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  11. "Jets select Jabari Zuniga with No. 79 pick in NFL Draft 2020". New York Jets. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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