Former Penn Defensive Player of the Year Joey Slackman declares for NFL draft.
Joey Slackman, a former defensive lineman for Penn football, declared for the NFL draft in an Instagram post on Thursday. Slackman was projected as the No. 270 best college prospect by Pro Football Focus back in November 2024, and, if selected, would be the first Quaker drafted to the NFL in the 2020s.
“I have nothing but gratitude for all that’s come from this unique journey,” Slackman said in his declaration.
Although he ended his Red and Blue career with an Asa S. Bushnell Cup for Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, Slackman initially did not intend to play football full time for the Quakers. The Commack, N.Y. native joined the Red and Blue in 2019 originally as a wrestler. At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, he was ranked No. 12 in the nation in the heavyweight class. But just halfway through his freshman year, Slackman suffered numerous injuries that left him to turn full time to football — a sport that he had played since middle school.
“When I did make the decision to switch to football, it was, you know, after a pretty difficult period of my life, just coming off of COVID, and I had taken a gap year at Penn,” Slackman said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I dealt with back-to-back major surgeries, so I was out for almost two years from injuries, and hadn't really accomplished what I wanted to to that point. … I really was just trying to reignite the fire a little bit.”
Slackman’s experience as a wrestler proved invaluable as a defensive lineman. During his senior year with the Red and Blue, he received numerous accolades for his performance on the gridiron, including All-Ivy first team honors and becoming the 10th player in program history to win the Bushnell Cup. Slackman’s final season with the Red and Blue was one for the history books with an impressive 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and four sacks. During his career at Penn, Slackman amassed 115 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks. Succeeding despite COVID-19, injuries, and a switch of sports, Slackman credits his success to a mentality he has had since he was young.
“My favorite player growing up was John Riggins,” Slackman said in reference to the former Washington Commanders fullback. “… He signed a picture that I had of his, and he wrote ‘aim high and shoot straight.’ And that’s kind of been a motto that I live by ever since then.”
Doubling down on his hope of playing in the NFL, Slackman entered the transfer portal in 2023 to utilize his extra year of eligibility granted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to Ivy League’s barring of graduate student participation in athletics, Slackman needed to transfer to continue his career.
Upon entering the transfer portal, Slackman was the nation’s No. 6 best available transfer at the time and was met with 17 offers in just under 24 hours. Offers came in from big-time schools like Auburn, Florida, and Michigan. Slackman eventually chose to play for the Florida Gators to conclude his collegiate career.
Early on during his time with the Gators, Slackman had surgery for a torn meniscus before a scheduled matchup against Mississippi State. Slackman would battle injury throughout his time in the Sunshine State. Despite this, Slackman believes his experience playing SEC football has prepared him for professional play.
“I think just being in that environment for a year prepared me for, you know, honestly, anything that I’ll have to deal with at the next level,” Slackman said. “I mean, it’s basically like playing for a professional team, when you’re in Gainesville and you can feel it every day.”
Slackman’s resume is more than enough to validate his hopes of following in the footsteps of Penn’s last NFL draftee Justin Watson. With a career that has seen its fair share of adversity, Slackman is confident that the same mentality that served him through out his career will continue to result in success going into the future.
“Hard work works,” Slackman said. “I did not grow up the most talented kid. I was not the fastest kid in school. I didn’t have great athletic ability, but I learned how to work hard, and that took me far. And I think that’s the thing that that is going to get me to the next level, and it’s going to keep me succeeding.”
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