The Florida Gators got their turn at the podium at the 2026 edition of the SEC football media days, headlined by new head coach Jon Sumrall along with a trio of players.
Among those current student-athletes who spoke in Tampa is star running back Jadan Baugh, a rising junior who started all 12 games for the Orange and Blue last season, recording 220 carries for 1,170 yards and eight rushing touchdowns — all stats that led the team. His efforts earned him a spot on the 2025 All-SEC Second Team and he already comes into 2026 on The Athletic’s preseason SEC First Team.
Baugh had plenty to say during his Q&A session with the press. Here is an abridged look at what he had to offer.
Why did you decide to come back to Florida with the coaching change, and what sold you so far about this coaching staff?
“One, just being a Gator is everything to me and being able to just play for the fans that support us when we’re down, up, regardless. They came around and embraced me with open arms just to keep going.
“But with the coaching staff, they came in with the fire in their eyes. And I told everybody that. When the coaching staff come in with a fire in their eye and they’re ready to just go, I’m ready to play right then and there.”
How do they plan to replicate your 1000-yard rushing effort in 2025?
“Well, Coach Buster, he recruited me out of high school when he was at Georgia Tech. We had a real good relationship. He was talking to me day in and day out, and he was just telling me how he could use me in the offense, at quarterback, running back, anywhere on the field. I feel like that’s definitely gonna get displayed this year.”
What messages from Coach Sumrall have really stuck out to you and to the team?
“The fire has spread throughout the team. The main messages that I got from just the staff in general, even Coach Sumrall, is when things are going bad, we all say good. When we’re facing adversity, we all say good, just because that’s what builds character.
“When you are in adversity times, that’s what helps us. So I know each and every day we come out there, the coaches are trying to put us behind the wall, behind the line. But we also just look at it and be like, let’s go.”
How is the running back group adjusting to the two redshirt quarterbacks?
“Again, those two quarterbacks are great quarterbacks. They’re gonna be able to display their talents this year.
“But in the running back room, we stick to the same plan every day — go out there, work hard, just put our best efforts on the field, because each and every day you’re fighting for a job. And all of us know that it’s competitive, but also we’re brothers as well.”
There’s been a lot of talk that the talent hasn’t matched the results. Why is it going to be different now under Coach Sumrall?
“We always had the pieces. It was just more of the inside stuff with the team as to buying into the process, understanding the process a lot more just to keep going. And I feel like this year we have a lot of guys who want to and a lot of guys who is willing to sacrifice anything for the team.
“There’s been times when Coach had to tell us to stop and chill out just because we were putting so much on our bodies. I feel like it’s going to be very exciting this year.”
You guys are playing Georgia this year in your hometown, Atlanta. Have you thought about the emotions of that game?
“A rivalry game in general is exciting just because there’s so much around it. And we played this game in Jacksonville a couple times. It was always exciting because you see the red and you see the blue and it gets loud at one time and then it got loud another time.
“But being able to go back home and play in front of my family and all my friends, it’s very exciting for me. And I’m not too much focused on that. I’m more focused on the game, though.”
What individual goals are you aspiring to meet to make the team goals successful?
“Becoming the best leader I can because we have a lot of guys who were transfers. We’ve got a lot of young guys that came in. You’ve got a lot of guys who stayed. But being able to the best leader I can to teach them to just keep going and facing adversity, I think that’s the main goal for me right now, to just help us be successful.”
What are you seeing from this Gators defense this year?
“Fast, electric. You’ve got a lot of guys who is just ready to just put the pads on now even. So I feel like that group in general, they’re going to be very, very tough to be able to score on because coach (indiscernible), they come around every day. They usually hear them yelling.
“And that excites me a lot more too because I know my defense is ready to just go out there and kill anybody in front of them.”
What has been your favorite stadium and which one are you looking forward to most this season?
“Again, there’s nothing like The Swamp in general. I don’t too much see another stadium that I’m just ready to just play other than The Swamp.”
What was the process of Coach Sumrall and his staff of making sure to get you back on campus?
“People don’t know it, but he came to my grandmother’s house on Christmas Day. And we sat there and just talked about everything, and that stuck out to me the most because that show is a guy who cares. It showed a guy with character that when anything’s going on, he does not care to a point where we’re just trying to get me back on the team, you know?”
What has been the biggest difference you’ve seen so far with this new coaching staff compared to the previous coaching staff?
“Well, I can say for a fact that the coaching staff now, we have a lot more guys into to certain areas as we have OC, we have a defensive coordinator. You have the guys who stand around and help, you know?
“They all coach us like it’s the last day. And with that, I feel like that makes us better each and every day and they push us 24/7.
“Like Coach Buster, he always tells me, high and tight, high and tight. He’s screaming, you’re going to hear him as soon as you walk in the building and as soon as you walk out.”
You’re standing in the tunnel at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium again. You look out, you see all those Gators, they’re chomping, do you still get goosebumps?
“Every time. Before I even touch campus, I get goosebumps, just because it’s different. I don’t think you’ll ever get that feeling nowhere else. Because I seen it as a recruit, as a fan. I’ve also seen it as a player now. So being able to get goosebumps in a place like The Swamp, I feel like that’s an honor.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: What Florida RB Jadan Baugh said at 2026 SEC football media days
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
