TAMPA — Florida football junior running back Jadan Baugh emerged as one the top running backs in the SEC last season, ranking third in the conference with 1,170 rushing yards and 8 rushing TDs.
Still, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound Baugh isn’t resting on past accomplishments.
Baugh said one of his goals is to emerge as the best running back in the SEC this season. With the SEC’s top two rushers from last season − Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy and Ole Miss’s Kewan Lacy − both returning, it won’t be an easy task.
“Those two guys are definitely good running backs,” Baugh said at SEC Football Media Day in Tampa on July 22. “But each and every day I train myself to put myself in a standpoint of, I know I’m better, and I’m ready to display my talent.”
Hardy rushed for 1,649 yards and 16 TDs for Missouri last season, while Lacy rushed for 1,567 yards and 24 TDs. Baugh will get a chance to show it on the field in head-to-head machups with Lacy when the Florida Gators host Ole Miss at The Swamp on Sept. 26 and Hardy when UF plays at Missouri on Oct. 3.
Baugh is confident he could put up even better numbers than a season ago based on the new scheme under first-year offensive coordinator Buster Faulker.
“We’re going to have a lot of opportunities to run because Coach Buster, he’s very creative, and he has a feel for a lot of different situations,” Baugh said. “For the defense, it’s going to be hard to adjust.”
How Jadan Baugh is preparing for a heavy workload for Florida football in 2026
Baugh said he’s squatting 600 pounds during summer workouts and has made significant speed gains as well under new UF strength coach Rusty Whitt. Against rival Florida State, Baugh capped his breakout 2025 season by rushing 38 times for 266 yards and 2 TDs in UF’s 40-21 win over the Seminoles. It marked the second highest rushing total in a game in UF history, behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, who rushed for 316 yards against New Mexico in 1989.
“They prepare for me to take on 30, 40-plus carries per game,” Baugh said. “They always preach that because they’ve seen that. Each and every day I just try to be in the weight room, put my body in certain positions where I’m at an advantage.”
Baugh said Smith remains an inspiration, and he met the Hall of Famer briefly during his freshman season when UF played at Texas.
“He told me ‘You got it’ and if you keep going in the right direction, you’re going to be where you want to be,” Baugh said.
Faulkner’s offense could unleash Baugh not just as a runner, but as a receiver, where he’s shown an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Baugh has posted 37 catches for 243 yards and 3 TDs in his first two seasons at UF.
“We want to get our best players the football and he’s one of them,” Sumrall said. “We’ve got to be good around him but you know there’s a lot of areas where Jadan is already a proven player, there’s areas where we think we can help him grow and improve and maybe create more explosive plays for himself.”
Sumrall also noted Baugh’s speed gains during the offseason.
“He’s physical, he’s strong,” Sumrall said. “He’s faster than what he’s given credit for. He’s hit great numbers on the GPS this summer. I’m fired up to watch him play in this system because I think you can a guy like that maybe in some one-on-one space with tacklers. He can run through you, around you, a lot of different ways to make a play.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football star Jadan Baugh striving to become best RB in SEC in 2026
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
