Pro Football Focus thinks Florida has one of the best backs in the country, and it showed up in a big way on its latest rankings for the 2026 season. Jadan Baugh landed at No. 37 on PFF’s top 50 college football players entering the year, making him the lone Gator on the list and the fourth-highest running back overall.
Only Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy, Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy and Oklahoma State’s Caleb Hawkins were slotted ahead of him at the position.
PFF’s case for Baugh centered on the kind of runner he already is and the kind of role he could grow into in Florida’s new offense. “Baugh is a physical runner who should post huge numbers in Buster Faulkner’s creative rushing attack this season,” the PFF team wrote.
“Last year, Baugh finished third among SEC running backs with 1,168 rushing yards, 65 missed tackles forced and 35 explosive runs. He’s also fumbled just one time across 354 career carries.
Baugh could be a Doak Walker Award candidate this season if all goes well in Florida’s new offense.”
The numbers back up the profile. At 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds, Baugh was especially effective after first contact, averaging 3.18 yards after contact per carry last season, which ranked fourth among SEC running backs, according to SEC Stat Cat. His broken tackle rate of 35.59% was second only to Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy.
That power is only part of what makes him such a tough matchup. Baugh’s size, burst and lateral quickness give him the ability to make defenders miss in tight spaces and keep plays alive when they should be over.
Florida’s coaching staff clearly sees more than a downhill runner, though. Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has talked about expanding Baugh’s role, and he recently drew a familiar comparison when describing the junior back.
“He’s Christian McCaffrey. He reminded me a lot of him,” Faulkner said of Baugh.
“Jadan has a great feel for the game. Not just from the backfield, but he can do a lot of other things.
He’s got great hands. Really good route runner.
So we want to be able to take his game to the next level. If he wants to play for a long time, he’s going to have to be able to do those things.
It’s not just going to be carrying the ball.”
That vision has already shown up in spring camp, where Gator Country observed Florida’s staff working with Baugh on pass-catching drills and wildcat packages.
There’s also real buzz around what the production could look like if everything clicks. Multiple sources, both local and national, believe Baugh is capable of rushing for 1,500 yards in Faulkner’s offense.
And the backdrop matters. Last season, Baugh became the first Florida running back to top 1,000 rushing yards since Kelvin Taylor in 2015. He now enters 2026 as the program’s first returning 1,000-yard rusher since Errict Rhett in 1992, according to David Waters of Gators Breakdown.
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