Smelling salts, cannonballs, face paint, how Florida football DT Joey Slackman is winning over teammates with intensity, personality

Most Ivy Leaguers aren't associated with smelling salts or taking cannonball plunges into cold tanks in the training room.

Then again, Florida football defensive tackle Joey Slackman isn't your typical Ivy Leaguer.

Sure, Slackman enrolled at Penn, where he earned a wresting scholarship before transitioning into football his final two years on campus. But after earning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023 and a bachelor's degree from Penn in political science, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Slackman accepted a new challenge — playing football in the SEC with the Florida Gators.

Slackman arrived at UF as a grad transfer in January and has won teammates over with his energy and personality.

“Rambo headband, face paint, smelling salts, cannonballs ... the biggest thing on Joey is you think about football and how football should be played and it's an intense game and it requires intensity 24/7," Florida quarterback Graham Mertz said. "That’s something that Joey brings in any room he's in. He sets the tone as soon as he walks in."

Slackman said he first tried smelling salts during his junior year at Penn.

"We were lifting some pretty heavy weight," Slackman said. "I think we were max power cleaning that day, and I didn’t really feel like I had enough juice on my own, and I took a little whiff. And I don’t want to say I got hooked, but it definitely gave me the juice I needed to lift some more weight. So, I’ve kind of been doing it ever since.”

A couple of bottles of smelling salts remain on hand in Slackman's locker in case he needs a boost during fall camp.

"I bring it to lift every day, so I kind of just do it there, and sometimes on the sideline, during scrimmages or practices," Slackman said. "(If) I need a little bit of juice, I feel like I’m lacking a little bit, that’s where I ask somebody to give me a little pump."

How Florida football DL Joey Slackman fits in with his teammates

Florida football coach Billy Napier was the first to tell the story about Slackman's cannonball plunge into the cold tank. Napier sensed Slackman's leadership potential from the moment he first visited UF's campus last January.

"I can't remember ever getting that many calls, that many texts from players after a visit saying, 'Hey, we've got to sign this guy'," Napier said.

Slackman said his ebullience comes in part from his transition from an individual sport, wrestling, to the team sport of football.

"Throughout my athletic career so far, I haven’t really had that team championship kind of experience," Slackman said. "And in that kind of environment, you need to bring energy as a group.

"Obviously, it’s not an individual sport and any one player can’t really win a game for you, so I think that’s kind of what draws me to it. I feed off my teammates, too, so, you know, that’s kind of where it comes from. I don’t think it all comes from the smelling salts.”

Fellow Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks admitted watching Slackman go through his smelling salts routine scared him at first.

"But I got used to him, like, he's kind of cool," Banks said. "So, I started smelling the smelling salts, like, he kind of just made me start doing it. He brings a lot of energy to the table. Gets us hyped."

As for the cold tub routine, Slackman said it comes from not wanting to prolong the agony of plunging into 50-to-60-degree water.

"It’s just going to feel colder," Slackman said. "I mean, I guess it’s, the lesson in that is you’re either going to jump right into it or you’re going to dip your toe in, and I’m just trying to be a guy that just jumps right into it."

What Joey Slackman can bring to the Florida football defensive line

Slackman posted 11.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and a blocked field goal at Penn last season. Pro Football Focus rated Slackman as the second-best defensive line transfer in SEC, behind only Ole Miss defensive lineman Walter Nolan, who came from Texas A&M.

Unlike Nolan, Slackman spent the spring adapting to a higher level of competition.

"Going to a new place from your previous one is going to be difficult at any level, but I’ve always kind of stuck to my guns and said that football is football," Slackman said. "Obviously, the transition was difficult, just the players are better all-around, but I think I’ve transitioned pretty well, and I’ve got better each day, and they’ve helped me.”

From Commack, N.Y., Slackman was a high school state champion wrestler who has taken aspects from the sport into his battles on the line of scrimmage.

"It helps me immensely," Slackman said. "I think it gives me an advantage, just because the basis of wrestling, especially as a heavyweight, is pummeling and getting inside hand control. As a defensive lineman, that’s what I have to do pretty much every play, whether it be a run play or pass rush, that’s kind of what my job is, so it gives me a leg up."

As a new addition, Slackman will be counted on to help a Florida defense that ranked 11th in the SEC in total defense (382.3 yards per game), 12th in sacks (22) and last in turnovers forced (7) last season.

"That’s part of the reason why I came here," Slackman said. "My whole life has really been about challenges, and this has been my biggest one yet, and I really can’t wait for it. I think that’s really the emphasis on our team is that we accept that."