Florida's Jadan Baugh headlines Doak Walker Award preseason watchlist

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Florida football star running back Jadan Baugh was named to the 2026 Doak Walker Award preseason watchlist, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Tuesday. The Doak Walker Award, established in 1990, is given to the nation's top running back.

Baugh enters this season as the preseason All-SEC second-team running back and consensus top-five at his position in the country.

The dynamic runner has also been named to many other preseason honors, including the Maxwell Award and Paul Hornung Award preseason watch lists; he was also featured on the 2025 Doak Walker preseason watchlist.

Last season, the Florida running back broke onto the scene, rushing for 1,170 yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 220 carries. He also added 33 receptions, 210 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.

To cap off his 2025 campaign, Baugh rushed for 266 yards and two touchdowns against Florida State, the second-most in program history and the most against the Seminoles.

Last season, the All-SEC running back made history by becoming the 10th player in the program to rush for over 1,000 yards and the third underclassman to surpass the mark, joining Emmitt Smith (1987) and Errict Rhett (1991).

Under new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, Baugh is expected to produce at an elite level once again.

"With Jaden, the one thing about him, he is built to last. So, that's what's encouraging about moving forward," Faulkner said of Baugh before fall camp.

"He's got a lot of reps under his belt. He's played in big-time football games, and, you know, we've obviously got a really good plan for him. We want to make sure we utilize him in a bunch of different ways, probably more so than he has over the last couple of years. But he'll be a big part of our offense."

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida's Jadan Baugh headlines Doak Walker Award preseason watchlist

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