Bigger and more experienced, Polite looking to make greater impact
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When defensive lineman Jachai Polite arrived at UF last summer, he immediately impressed his new teammates with his work ethic, athletic ability and versatility.
In fall camp, Florida’s coaches continued to take notice to what Polite brought to the table as well – and it led to the Daytona Beach, Florida, native out of Mainland High School, a three-star recruit from the 2016 class, avoiding a redshirt in his first season with the program.
As a reserve on defense appearing in 12 games and rounding out the Gators’ rotation last year, Polite made a number of his opportunities count. He finished the season with 11 tackles and 3.5 TFL, with two sacks and a forced fumble coming against Kentucky in the second game of his freshman campaign.
Florida also found ways to utilize Polite on offense, specifically as a blocking tight end in goal-line packages.
However, the 2016 season was still an adjustment period for Polite, as he needed time to get better acclimated with the pace and intensity of the college game, especially during SEC competition. Polite got a good taste of all of that as a true freshman, playing a role in the defensive line rotation in important contests down the stretch against LSU, Florida State and Alabama.
Polite’s uncle, Fred Nolan – who coaches the offensive line at Mainland High and speaks to his nephew frequently – saw Polite benefit greatly from the experience.
"He's more comfortable in the system," Nolan said. "With him knowing what he's doing fully, because he's got a year under his belt, he feels more comfortable and better about his play."
Polite continues to be heavily involved in Florida’s plans along the defensive line moving forward. The sophomore saw most of his reps this spring as a second-team defensive end. Still, Florida envisions Polite down the road as a player who could make an impact as a hybrid end/three-technique tackle, in the same vein as the 6-foot-3, 283-pound Jonathan Bullard.
Especially with last year's starting defensive tackles, Caleb Brantley and Joey Ivie, leaving the program, Polite's versatility along the D-line is a valuable asset, as a lineman athletic and fast enough to play end, but big enough to possibly slide inside at tackle.
“You know, I think he has the ability to do both,” Florida head coach Jim McElwain said of Polite this spring. “Obviously we’re a little thin body-type wise. I’m excited Kyree (Campbell) is here, obviously, to help in there. You know, I thin Khairi (Clark) and Taven (Bryan) have really had good offseasons. I’m excited to see where their development is as well as Luke Ancrum inside. But we’ll also continue to use him in some offensive packages as well because of his versatility of being able to play that tight end spot.”
Added Nolan on Polite: "That's his personality, he does what the coaches want. He likes end, because that's what he played his whole life. But, he also likes tackle because he could use his speed on the big guys inside since he has picked up that weight. He's comfortable. So last year, he would prefer to play more outside. This year, it doesn't matter."
A big key for Polite, who currently weighs roughly 280 pounds at 6 feet, 2 inches, according to Nolan, will be maintaining a good playing weight that’ll help him be able to possibly contribute at both spots down the road.
"We're going to see what happens with him,” defensive line coach/co-defensive coordinator Chris Rumph said this spring. “Weight's going to be the biggest thing. How big can he get? Maybe we get in some game-plan stuff, we may be able to switch him inside, but he's one of those versatile guys that can go inside or outside."
The good news is that Polite is putting on the weight and adding good muscle to his frame. Since arriving at UF last summer at about 260 pounds, Polite has gained nearly 20 pounds. It's been part of a notable body transformation, as according to Nolan, Polite saw his weight increase by 15 pounds to the 250 mark between his junior and senior seasons of high school.
"As soon as he got to Florida in June, by August he had already put on six or seven pounds, like quick," Nolan said. "It's in his body, it's hereditary. His genes were big. When I was in the league, I was 6-foot-3, 320 pounds. He's got another uncle the same size as me. It's in his genes to get big as he gets older. Then, he'll hit the weights because he likes the weight room. So, that's going to blow him up."
Down the road in his career, Polite’s goal weight is to be at about 290 pounds, according to Nolan. However, being able to carry whatever weight he’s at well is the important thing he has in mind.
"By the time it’s said and done, I would say like 290. At 280, he got there so fast. He put on that weight so fast - it takes time to grow into your body," Nolan said. "He went from 235 to 250 to his junior to senior year, and that kind of slowed him up."
Nolan feels Polite's added weight since he's arrived at Florida has helped the game slow down for him. As compared to Polite's freshman season, where at about 270 pounds he struggled at times with his confidence defending the run going up against bigger SEC offensive linemen, Nolan sees his nephew growing more comfortable in that area.
"Now that he's gained a couple pounds, put more muscle - gained about 10 pounds of muscle - now he feels more confident in the run game getting off the ball," Nolan said.
"The run game, that was a focus in high school. Even though he’s so big, it was still getting his hands on and working on his hands. Now, his hands are great in the pass. Now with the run, he's starting to learn to get his hands on and squeeze and use them more. That was his struggle, so to speak, last year with the run game, because the boys were so big and strong. As a freshman in the trenches in the SEC, them boys, they're beating and beating and beating."
Nolan watched Polite in the Orange & Blue Debut more than two weeks ago, where his nephew worked as a second-team defensive end squaring off against the 1's along the offensive line. Overall, he was impressed and pleased with Polite's progress.
"Watching him from last year to this spring, his get-off off the line - his first step is tremendously faster than it was last year," Nolan said. "Everything about his stance, you could see confidence in him on the field. Last year, he might have been a little sick because he didn't know where to go. This year, watching the spring game, I've seen that confidence, I've seen that burst that he has."
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