Jake Sankal official photo with the Washington Redskins in 2019. (Photo via Washington Commanders)
Per multiple reports, Billy Napier has filled one of the vacancies on his army with an NFL veteran.
Jake Sankal, who spent the last eight seasons as an assistant nutritionist for the Washington Commanders (formerly the Washington Redskins), is set to join the Gators as the team’s new nutritionist. That role was held for the past two seasons by Kelsee Gomes.
Jake Sankal was hired by the Redskins in 2016 with an impressive wealth of certifications and degrees. And he’s more than just a nutritionist. Sankal is a Registered Dietitian and additionally owns certifications with USA Weightlifting and the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).
On top of all that, Sankal is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association. He currently serves on the Sports Nutrition Advisory Panel of the American Dairy Association Northeast, as well as the Editorial Review Board Panel of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
That combination of backgrounds between strength and conditioning and nutrition won him over with Napier, who faces a do-or-die offseason.
The Gators routinely appeared to be gassed by the fourth quarter this past year, an alarming trend after Nick Savage clearly did things right in his four years as the Gators’ strength coach from 2018-21 under Dan Mullen. While blame for that may not solely belong on either Gomes or Napier’s hand-picked strength coach Mark Hocke (who is transitioning into a demoted role), it’s clear that a change in leadership in both the nutrition and the strength departments wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Though Sankal is being hired for the clear-cut role of overseeing the Gators’ nutrition program, it definitely won’t hurt to have someone in that role with a strength and conditioning background.
Before joining the Redskins in 2016, Sankal spent several years as a strength and conditioning assistant with the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) major league baseball team.
All things told, the hire certainly appears impressive on paper. Time will tell if it’s ultimately looked back upon that way.
