Jadan Baugh is starting to look like the kind of player who can put his name in a Florida Gators lane nobody has occupied before.
For all the running back talent that has rolled through Gainesville - Fred Taylor, Earnest Graham and Errict Rhett among them - Florida still hasn’t produced a Doak Walker Award winner in the 36-year history of the honor. Baugh now has a real shot to be the one who breaks that streak.
That buzz got louder on July 7, 2026, when PFF slotted Baugh at No. 37 on its top 50 college football players entering the 2026 season. He was the fourth-highest running back on the list, behind Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy at No.
6, Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy at No. 10 and Oklahoma State’s Caleb Hawkins. BYU’s LJ Martin was the only other back to make the cut, coming in at No.
PFF’s case for Baugh was straightforward and strong: “Baugh is a physical runner who should post huge numbers in Buster Faulkner’s creative rushing attack this season. 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.”
That’s the kind of profile that makes him the centerpiece of Florida’s offense, at least early on. The quarterback situation is still unsettled with Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr., and there are questions along the offensive line, especially at tackle. But the interior line looks solid, and Baugh has the kind of physical style that can wear defenses down between the tackles.
He’s not just a bruiser, either. Baugh is also a strong pass catcher, which gives Faulkner another way to get him the ball in space.
Baugh first took over as Florida’s top back in the second half of his freshman season, then leveled up as a sophomore with 1,170 rushing yards and 33 catches for 210 yards. With his workload expected to grow in 2026, the numbers point toward a huge season. He could even push Emmit Smith’s single-season Florida rushing record of 1,599 yards, and he should join Smith and Rhett as the only Gators backs with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Keeping Baugh in the fold was also a major win for Jon Sumrall, who held onto him for his junior year despite Texas and other programs offering enough money to try to pry him away. If Florida ends up living up to the hype that some in college football media are putting on the Gators, Baugh is likely to be at the center of it. And based on what he’s already done, that doesn’t feel like a stretch.
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Napier also said the challenge was not just the size of the job, but his own reluctance to delegate enough when the Gators needed it most. Even after his dismissal, he has moved on to James Madison, but the Florida chapter now reads like a case study in how quickly the modern college game can overwhelm a coach who is trying to do too much at once. [Read more 🡒]
DJ Lagways Florida Exit Just Took A Much Darker Turn
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Lagway also opened up about how isolating things felt in Gainesville, adding another layer to why the change mattered so much. For Florida, it is a reminder that a transfer is not always just about scheme or playing time. Sometimes it is about fit, confidence, and whether a player feels connected enough to thrive, and Lagways story suggests the gap between those situations can be wider than it looks from the outside. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Suddenly Looks Dangerous In One Crucial 2027 Recruiting Battle
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Pearl stands out as the biggest in-state win in that group, with Florida beating out programs like Georgia and Ole Miss to keep him home. The larger question now is whether the Gators can keep pressing while Oregon and Texas A&M keep adding elite receiver talent of their own, turning what once looked like a broad national chase into a tighter battle among a few heavy hitters. [Read more 🡒]