Penn DL Slackman Praises UNC Following Official Visit

Joey Slackman is looking for a place to spend his last year of college eligibility on the football field.

The decorated University of Pennsylvania defensive lineman played three years of football at Penn, but he initially committed to the school as a wrestler. But after one season, wanted to play football again, developing into an all-conference performer.

On Monday, Slackman was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, and was in New York to receive his award the day before his official visit started at North Carolina.

"Thank you to the Penn coaching staff for taking a chance on me and believing in me from the beginning," Slackman said at the New York Athletic Club. "Not only am I honored to be here, but I'm honored to be a part of this program. From where my career started to where I am now, I wouldn't be on this podium if you didn't give me a chance a couple years ago."

At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Slackman had 50 tackles, 12 TFLs, four sacks, four hurries, one PBU, and a blocked field goal this season for a Quakers team that went 6-4. A native of Commack, NY, Slackman currently has his left arm in a sling, as he underwent bicep surgery as soon as the Quakers’ season ended.

Here are some notes from his Penn bio:

*Ranked the third-best interior defensive lineman in all of college football and the best in FCS by Pro Football Focus (PFF)

*Fourth-team Phil Steele FCS Midseason All-America

*Academic All-Ivy recipient

*First-team All-State football selection in 2018 at Commack High School

*New York State Wrestling Champion in 2019

Slackman has received 27 offers since entering the transfer portal, with Texas A&M the most recent school to extend, which did so Thursday. Some other offers: Michigan, LSU, Florida, Virginia Tech, USC, South Carolina, Miami and Oregon.

Slackman arrived in Chapel Hill on Tuesday and left Thursday afternoon. THI caught up with him Thursday evening to see how the visit went. Here is a transcript of our conversation.

Note: Any further communication with Slackman will be posted in the thread before this piece.

THI: Hey Joey, how did the visit go?

SLACKMAN: “Went well!”

THI: What are some of the things that stood out to you?

SLACKMAN: “It was great! I really enjoyed how welcoming the staff was and the practice was scheduled very similar to how mine were at Penn.”

THI: What did you think of meeting Mack Brown, Coach Cross, and Coach Chizik?

SLACKMAN: “They were all extremely great people, aside from just coaches. Very knowledgeable, obviously experienced, and made me feel very comfortable albeit for a short amount of time.”

THI: What did they tell you that they like about your game and how they see you fitting in North Carolina?

SLACKMAN: “They see me fitting pretty seamlessly because i would be doing much of the same things there as I did at Penn.”

Note: Slackman has some more visits lined up. We will report any new communication with him in the thread in which this piece is posted.