Fall camp is closing in on Gainesville, and Florida’s 2026 roster is already taking shape under a new look. The Gators are trying to move on from a 4-8 finish in Billy Napier’s final season, and the arrival of Jon Sumrall has raised the temperature around the program.
With that backdrop, Swamp247 wrapped up its countdown of Florida’s 26 most important players for 2026 by putting junior running back Jadan Baugh at No. 1.
Baugh’s case starts with production, and it doesn’t take long to see why he sits atop the list. As a sophomore in 2025, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound back from Atlanta, Georgia started all 12 games and piled up 220 carries for 1,170 yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
He also added 185 receiving yards on 31 catches, two receiving touchdowns, 88 return yards on one punt return and three kickoff returns. He led Florida in rushing yards, rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.
His biggest night came against Florida State, when he ran for 266 yards, the second-most in a game in program history, and the most ever by a Gator against the Seminoles. He hit 1,000 rushing yards on his 198th carry, becoming the seventh quickest player to reach that mark in a season.
Baugh also joined Emmitt Smith and Errict Rhett as the third underclassmen in Florida history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. By the end of the year, his 1,170 rushing yards ranked sixth in a single season in UF history, and his 2025 regular season ranked third in the SEC and 14th in the FBS.
That kind of output was a continuation of what he’d already shown as a freshman in 2024, when he played in all 13 games with four starts. That season, he led the team in rushing yards with 673, led the team in total touchdowns with eight, and tied for the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns.
Florida’s previous staff deserves credit for identifying him correctly out of high school. Baugh was recruited by many Power Four programs as a linebacker, but the Gators offered the Peach State native as a running back, and that call has clearly paid off. His sophomore season made him Florida’s first 1,000-yard rusher in a decade, and it ended with that breakout performance against Florida State.
The coaching change in Gainesville could have complicated things. Baugh was one of the few bright spots in a season Florida fans would rather forget, and the new staff had to work to keep him from moving on for his third college season.
Jon Sumrall, along with running backs coach Chris Foster and help from returning players on the roster, made that push, and Baugh stayed in Gainesville. That return matters, because he is set to be the Gators’ primary rusher again in 2026.
Florida should keep feeding him, and maybe even expand how it uses him. The Gators could look to get Baugh more involved on the perimeter and in space as a receiver, using his athleticism and power beyond just the traditional run game. He was also seen working out of the Wildcat formation during spring camp, a sign that offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has a package ready for him to take direct snaps.
The backfield does have other pieces. Florida added Evan Pryor and London Montgomery from Ohio State and East Carolina, respectively, and Duke Clark and Byron Louis will try to build on their freshman seasons. But the job still belongs to Baugh in Sumrall’s first season in Gainesville.
With Florida still sorting out its starting quarterback battle, the logic is simple: lean on the running back who already proved he can carry the offense. Baugh’s return was an early win for the new staff, and his value makes him the most important player on the roster heading into 2026.
In Other News...
Florida Fans Are About To Find Out What LJ McCray Really Is
LJ McCrays Florida career has been more about promise than production so far, which is what makes this next stretch so interesting. The former five-star defensive end spent most of last season sidelined by a foot injury, then turned his focus to recovery and the kind of strength work that can change how a pass rusher looks and plays. Under new conditioning coach Rusty Whitt, McCray has added more than 10 pounds of muscle and is heading into the offseason with a much different body than the one he brought to Gainesville.
Now the real evaluation begins. McCray is preparing to compete for playing time in 2026 under a new coaching staff and a new defensive setup, and Floridas staff will get a much clearer read on whether he is ready to become the kind of disruptive edge presence his recruiting profile suggested. He will have to earn his place in a crowded defensive end room, and the coming months should tell the Gators whether McCray is simply a talented name on paper or someone ready to turn the hype into snaps. [Read more 🡒]
Buster Faulkner Just Put Jadan Baugh In Rare Florida Company
Jadan Baugh is starting to draw the kind of national attention Florida has been waiting for from its backfield. Pro Football Focus slotted the Gators running back at No. 37 on its list of the top 50 college football players entering the 2026 season, making him Floridas lone representative on the board and one of the highest-ranked backs in the country.
For a program trying to find a new offensive identity, that kind of recognition matters because it suggests Baughs role could grow well beyond a standard run-game workload. PFF also sees him as the sort of player who can factor into award chatter if everything clicks in Floridas new offense, which only adds to the intrigue around what he might become in Gainesville. [Read more 🡒]
Easton Royal Just Put Florida Fans Through Familiar Recruiting Drama
A fresh bit of recruiting theater has Gators fans looking twice after five-star wide receiver Easton Royal, a Texas commit, wrapped up his official visit to Gainesville and then switched his Instagram profile picture to a shot of himself in a Florida uniform. It is the kind of social media move that always gets attention in this sport, especially when it comes from a player Florida has kept pushing for and one whose recruitment still has plenty of runway left.
Royals post has naturally fueled speculation about whether the Gators can make a real run at a flip, even with Florida already sitting in a decent spot at wide receiver for the 2027 class. There is no resolution yet, and the next few weeks should tell more about where this is headed, but for now it is another reminder that Floridas pursuit of elite talent can still turn into familiar recruiting drama. [Read more 🡒]