2020 Senior Bowl: Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and 5 players to watch

Though they played for bitter SEC East rivals in college, Florida Gators defensive end Jabari Zuniga was high school teammates with Georgia Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship at Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia. With them both being on the South Team in, they’ll be teammates at least one more time in their playing careers.

While Blankenship had a terrific senior season, Zuniga had an injury-riddled one with Florida. Though Florida would win 11 games in 2019, including the Orange Bowl over the ACC’s Virginia Cavaliers, Zuniga only played in five games in his last year in school. His raw talent is undeniable and could make him a late first-round pick by the right team.

When healthy, Zuniga is an absolute monster in run defense. He registered 33.0 tackles for a loss of yardage in roughly three-and-a-half seasons with Florida. He also came away with 18.5 sacks during his time in the SEC. Zuniga is a versatile defensive lineman who can disrupt any offensive coordinator’s game plan.

We know Zuniga can more than hold his own against great competition from his time in the SEC. What the Senior Bowl will show us on Saturday is if Zuniga is worthy of being a first-round draft pick. If he goes to a situation where he can be a complementary defensive lineman as a rookie, then we can expect him to pop in year two in the league.