Florida’s path to a better season may start with a simple shift in emphasis: feed Jadan Baugh and let the running game carry more of the load.
That’s the case being made as the Gators head toward training camp with a quarterback battle still unresolved between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. Jon Sumrall has tried to keep that competition from swallowing the conversation this spring, pointing out that more than one part of the roster needs work before the fall.
Even so, the quarterback situation is hard to ignore. If Florida can’t get steady play there - and can’t push the ball downfield to its receivers - a surprise run at the College Football Playoff is off the table.
The good news for the Gators is that they do have one area that looks ready to help them win games. Florida has enough overall talent to reach a bowl, which would mark a clear step forward from its 4-8 finish in 2024. And if the passing game remains a question mark, the backfield gives the team a real chance to stay afloat.
Blake Brockermeyer of CBS Sports ranked Florida’s running back group No. 6 in the country, with Baugh front and center. The Gators’ lead back is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and Brockermeyer argued Florida should build even more of the offense around him.
"Jadan Baugh leads the Gators' rushing attack after averaging 5.3 yards per carry," he wrote. "He excels in inside-zone runs with good patience, vision, and the ability to break arm tackles. Baugh had almost 800 yards after contact and should be featured even more in Jon Sumrall's scheme.
"Florida also has quality depth behind Baugh with Evan Pryor and Logan Montgomery, who were productive starters at Cincinnati and East Carolina, combining for 1,300 rushing yards last season. Duke Clark is also expected to have a role after gaining limited experience last season."
That kind of depth gives Florida a real foundation. If the Gators can turn the run game into a weekly problem for defenses, they can get to a winning season and make the postseason in Sumrall’s first year.
But if they want to push beyond that - into the nine- or 10-win range - the ground game has to do more than just support the offense. It has to help drive it.
In Other News...
Former Florida GM Just Reignited The Billy Napier Blame Debate
Billy Napiers Florida tenure is back in the conversation, and this time the pushback is coming from inside the same orbit that once helped build it. Jason LaFrance, who served as Floridas general manager and is now an associate athletic director at James Madison, said the Gators roster in Napiers fourth year had enough talent to stack up with just about anyone in the country, a pointed assessment for a program that never turned that promise into a run at the national level.
Napier has since moved on to James Madison, where he is taking over after Bob Chesney left for UCLA, but the Florida debate he left behind is still very much alive. The Gators did not produce the kind of breakthrough season their roster suggested was possible, and LaFrances comments only sharpen the question of how much of that failure belonged to the talent on hand and how much belonged to the coaching. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Missed On A Priority QB Sumrall Really Needed
Florida spent real time on the trail of one of the nations most coveted young quarterbacks, and Kingston Preyear had given the Gators enough reason to stay involved. The four-star from Alabama has been on the radar as a top-tier 2028 signal-caller, and Floridas staff, under Jon Sumrall, worked to keep the conversation moving after he visited Gainesville in March and returned for the programs camp in June.
Alabama ultimately won out in the end, landing the in-state standout and leaving Florida to regroup after missing on a priority target it badly wanted in the class. For the Gators, it is another reminder that early quarterback recruiting can turn quickly, especially when a player ranked among the best at his position nationally starts narrowing the field. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Fans Are Watching Keldrid Ben For One Reason
Keldrid Ben has become a familiar name on Floridas recruiting radar, even if the path here has always pointed elsewhere. The four-star running back has been committed to Oklahoma since December, but the Gators still made a push with an offer in March and campus visits in April and May, enough to keep his name in the conversation as he heads toward a scheduled announcement about his recruitment.
For Florida fans, the interest is obvious because Ben is the type of back any staff would want to at least keep tracking. Still, the expectation around the announcement is that it will be more of a closing moment than a surprise twist, with the focus on family, friends and community as he wraps up the process and puts a final bow on the decision he has been building toward for months. [Read more 🡒]