After sacking sugar, Polite now a force
Gators pass rusher gives up sweets, commits to craft
GAINESVILLE – Every day used to be like Halloween for UF defensive lineman Jachai Polite.
But if Polite planned to shine on Saturdays and eventually play on Sundays, he had to choose between candy or sacks.
Swedish Fish were Polite’s guilty pleasure. But after last season, he decided to give up his sugary snacks to become an edge rusher no offense wanted to face.
“I’m kind of too old for candy,” said Polite, 20. “So I had to slow down on that, focus on my future.”
Polite’s Twitter handle — @RetireMoms — is that of a young man with big plans.
No one who has seen the sleeker, swifter version of Polite has any doubt the Daytona Beach Mainland product is going places — and fast.
“He’s going to be a first-rounder,” sophomore defensive tackle T.J. Slaton said. “He has the best close-out of anybody on this team, anybody on our defense he closes the best.”
Even last season when Polite was 25 pounds heavier, once he had someone in his sights Polite usually was going to chase him down.
Polite put himself on the map last September when he tackled Tennessee tailback John Kelly 25 yards down the field, racing all the way from the back end of the play. A replay went viral and became an inspirational video for his teammates.
UF’s season soon would go off the rails, though, and Polite missed the final four games due to a shoulder injury.
Once his shoulder was ready, the 6-foot-2 Polite attacked the offseason under new strength coach Nick Savage. Polite emerged at 242 pounds and to rave reviews.
“One of the best D-ends right now in the SEC, and as the season goes on, one of the best D-ends in the country,” defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson predicted. “He got the size of Von Miller in him, Khalil Mack, he can do everything. He can drop in coverage, he can blitz, he can contain, just hold his own.
“But a lot of guys think they can bully him around because of his body size, but he’s pretty strong on the edge.”
Polite, after all, has the mentality of a defensive tackle, having lined up as 3-technique (on the outside shoulder of a guard) as a freshman for former defensive line coach Chris Rumph.
“Coach Rumph. He just wanted to maximize my potential,” Polite said. “I was kind of big, I was like 270, 268. So he just wanted me to get on the field some way, somehow.
“I played 3 tech and also end in a 4-3 scheme, so it was just more experience for me.”
Polite’s first love was basketball. When it became clear he would not follow in the footsteps of Mainland legend Vince Carter, Polite opted for football and fell in love with chasing quarterbacks. “It’s very fun,” he said. “Somebody has to block you, like, that’s hard. That’s very hard, to stop somebody trying to get around you.”
Polite said he did not always have the motor that often distinguishes top pass rushers, but now has a blinding first step and an effort level with peer on the Gators’ defense.
“I developed it, not going to lie,” he said. “I used to slack a little bit, but over the years I’ve learned that hustling creates opportunities. A lot of people don’t want to be the one to hustle, so I’m going to do it. “Make more plays.” Polite’s passion inspires his teammates to turn it up a notch, too. This relentless style seems to be a perfect fit for new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s aggressive, 3-4 scheme.
Polite had four tackles, a pass break-up and forced a fumble during last Saturday’s season opener against Charleston Southern.
“He does play with a lot of energy,” Grantham said. “He’s really a smart, instinctive guy that can see things on the field.”
Polite is merely reaping the rewards of his commitment to his craft, said Slaton, one of Polite’s closest friends.
“Works hard, works harder than anybody else,” Slaton said. “He believes that he’s the best and that he’s going to be the best. He’s not going to let anybody outwork him.”
If all goes according to plan, Polite will be in the NFL one day. If he makes a name for himself Polite could have a decision to make again.
Marshawn Lynch has his likeness on a bag of his beloved Skittles. What if Swedish Fish were to come calling Polite?
He would politely decline.
“I don’t ever want to play 3-tech no more,” he said.