'Freakish athlete' T.J. Slaton brings size, upside to Packers' defensive line

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GREEN BAY – One of the first things David Turner did after reuniting with Dan Mullen in 2019 at the University of Florida was turn on film of his newest pupil: T.J. Slaton.


And not just the cutups from Slaton's first two seasons with the Gators. Turner even went back and watched Slaton's basketball tape from American Heritage High School, as well.


What the Gators' new defensive line coach saw was a nimble, athletic big man with good footwork and body control. The guy was active on the boards and could dunk, too.


"He's a freakish athlete for a guy his size," said Turner last week in an interview with packers.com. "As a D-line coach, I love these linemen who play basketball and I love to watch them play. Because you gotta handle the ball, and they develop different skill sets."


Turner, who previously coached with Mullen during two stints at Mississippi State, was brought to Gainesville to work with Slaton and the Gators' defensive linemen after Sal Sunseri accepted an assistant job at Alabama.


In more than 30 years as a college coach, Turner has worked with likes of Preston Smith, Fletcher Cox, Chris Jones, Patrick Kerney, Pernell McPhee, and Kingsley Keke (at Texas A&M). His newest pupil was Slaton, a colossus who played at 6-foot-5, 358 pounds during his junior season at Florida.


A four-star recruit who played for former Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain at American Heritage, Slaton brought lofty expectations when he committed to play for the Gators due to that otherworldly athleticism for a man of his size.


While Slaton had been a productive rotational lineman for Florida during his three seasons – 61 tackles and two sacks in 33 games – he had yet to become a full-fledged starter heading into his true senior year in 2020.


Turner, knowing Slaton aspired to play at the next level, presented him with a challenge last spring – increase the effort and work on his conditioning.


"I talked to him about it," Turner said. "I said, 'You ought to be able to play 35, 40 snaps easily.'


"Over time and having a chance to play some, he realized that it's hard to play and be effective at the weight that he was at. That's when he made the conscious decision, 'Hey, this is important. I gotta get my weight down.'"