Florida's Jadan Baugh Explains Why He Had to Return to Gators

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After Billy Napier was fired and amid a 4-8 season, there was a worry in Gainesville that star running back Jadan Baugh would look to transfer from Florida to a College Football Playoff contender in his final season of college football.

Baugh, expected to be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, had a breakout season in 2025, running for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on 220 carries. He added another 210 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game.

During his appearance at the SEC Media Days event in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, Baugh told reporters that he wanted to return to Florida when he saw the intensity new head coach Jon Sumrall was bringing to the program.

"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," Baugh said, via USA Today. "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 comes in with a fire in their eye and they're ready to just go, I'm ready to play right then and there."

Baugh was impressed by how driven Sumrall was to have the elite running back return for the 2026 season. He visited Baugh's family on Christmas Day to make his pitch, which wasn't just about his football career.

"People don't know it, but he came to my grandmother's house on Christmas Day," Baugh said of Sumrall. And we sat there and just talked about everything, and that stuck out to me the most because that shows 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?"

Baugh is expected to be a focal point of the offense for Florida this season. New Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tried to recruit him while at Georgia Tech, and he should receive plenty of touches while either Tramell Jones Jr. or Aaron Philo gain experience as the starting quarterback.

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