As Jadan Baugh arrived in the back of the end zone following a 53-yard touchdown run that put Florida ahead three scores in last week's win at Auburn, he struck a pose. At this rate, Baugh may just run all the way to the Heisman ceremony in New York. He's the top running back on the odds sheet (+6000 at DraftKings), and his coach has no qualms with Baugh trying out the iconic stance.
Baugh leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with eight and is second in rushing yards with 458. After three straight 100-yard games to begin the season, the junior star has the Gators one win away from matching last season's total. "I'm not going to take the fun away," first-year Gators coach Jon Sumrall said Monday.
"Growing up as a kid, you said, 'I want to go play football,' not work football. Now it's our livelihood, and it's our job, but I want him to enjoy it. I think that's a way now for him to celebrate and have fun with it." As the No. 21 Gators prepare to host No. 4 Ole Miss on Saturday, Baugh and Florida seem to be having plenty of fun.
As slight favorites against the Rebels, the Gators have a chance to arrive on the national scene earlier than expected under Sumrall. So does Baugh, who chose to remain in Gainesville through the coaching transition from Billy Napier to Sumrall. JADAN BAUGH RB1 Turned on the burners for TD no. 3 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7Z8NW48R3i Baugh finished third in the SEC with 1,170 rushing yards last season, but as Florida faded from view amid a 4-8 season, Baugh didn't necessarily reach national stardom.
He would have been a hot commodity in the transfer portal, but Sumrall made retaining Baugh a top priority. Their partnership is paying early dividends. Among players who have registered 30+ rushing attempts, Baugh's 55.6% tackle avoidance rate leads the nation.
The next-closest SEC running back in that metric is South Carolina's Matt Fuller at 34.2%. Among the other numbers that tell the story of Baugh's 2026 stardom: At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Baugh is physical enough to run through defenders and also shifty enough to make the sort of instant cuts that can make defenders whiff. "He's been very impressive with making people miss," Sumrall said.
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