GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Rimington Trophy announced Jake Slaughter as one of three finalists selected from the 40 man preseason watch list.

Slaughter has served as the Gators starting center for the last three seasons, earning eight starts in 2023 and has made an appearance in every game since 2022. The 2025 season saw Slaughter snap the ball 748 times and allowed just one sack, one quarterback hit and two hurries. He earned a PFF Offense grade of 78.9, a Run Block grade of 82.2 and saw a 70.0 or higher Pass Block grade in 11 of the Gators games this season to add to his team high 87.1 Pass Block grade for the season.

Among centers, Slaughter ranks eighth in the country for his PFF Run Block, Pass Block and Offense grades, and is fifth in the country for his Zone Run Block grade of 80.3.

After earning a nomination to the award last year and having a stellar 2024 season, Slaughter was named a First Team All-American, the first since O’Cyrus Torrence in 2022. Prior to the 2025 season, Slaughter was named to the Rimington Trophy’s watch list for the second straight year in August and was named a member of the Preseason All-American First Team by ESPN, Sporting News and Walter Camp publications.

Slaughter’s appearance as a finalist is marked as the third time in the trophy’s history that a Gator has been named a finalist for the award, with Mike Degory being one of six finalists in 2005 and Maurkice Pouncey receiving the trophy in 2009.

The Rimington Trophy is presented each year to the most outstanding center in Division I College Football. The award is named after University of Nebraska’s 1981 and 1982 All-America center Dave Rimington. At that time Rimington was the only player to win the Outland Trophy twice and went on to play in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The winner of the trophy is selected as the winner by using the first teams listed by the Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America. The player that receives the most first team votes from these three publications is named the winner of the trophy and will be announced on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.

Rimington Trophy Finalists

Iapani Laloulu, JR, Oregon

Jake Slaughter, R-SR, Florida

Logan Jones, GR, Iowa