2025 NFL Draft interview: Sacramento State OG Jackson Slater

WCG’s lead draft analyst speaks with one of the top small-school prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

A two-time All-American and a three-time All-Big Sky offensive lineman, Sacramento State guard Jackson Slater is one of the top small-school prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Having proven himself as one of the best offensive linemen in the FCS, Slater is looking to carry on his level of success onto the NFL level. After Senior Bowl and Combine invitations, it’s clear he’s firmly on teams’ radar.

Windy City Gridiron had the chance to speak with Slater about his collegiate experience, maintaining his athleticism along the interior, his Star Wars Lego collection, and more.

JI: You got the chance to go down to the Senior Bowl. What was that experience like for you?

JS: It was a super cool experience. I’m super thankful for [Senior Bowl executive director] Jim Nagy for giving me that opportunity. Being a small-school guy, the all-star game circuit was going to be huge for me for this process. It was a super fun week just getting to know the guys, doing the media stuff. I thought the practices and the game went well for me. I think I helped myself out a ton that week. I was really happy to be able to do that.

JI: A lot of guys like Cole Strange, Cody Mauch and Quinn Meinerz — small-school linemen — have come in and performed well, and they boost their stock out of that. Does seeing guys like them perform as well as they have, not just in the Senior Bowl, but in the pros, give you that added confidence?

JS: Yeah, I mean, a ton. All those are names that I’ve looked up to throughout my college career. Knowing I’m in pretty good company there with small-school guys that have done well in an all-star game and moved on to have success in the NFL, I think helps my confidence a ton. I think how I’ve personally felt about my performance, for me, is what’s helped my confidence the most.

As a player, going into that week, [I didn’t know] what I was about to see out there, to be honest. [I was] playing Big Sky football my whole career, being able to go out there and do well and compete with a lot of these best college football players in the nation, by the end of it, really feeling I belong with that group. I think gives me a ton of confidence going through the rest of this process. Hopefully, once I get in the NFL, that confidence continues.

JI: You’re not the only Sacramento State player to make the Senior Bowl. Your old teammate, Marte Mapu, got invited and ended up drafted by the Patriots. What was that like, being able to see someone that you played with, getting to see him make it to the NFL, make it to the Senior Bowl, and see the success he has?

JS:...