Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh continues to draw national attention heading into the 2026 season.
It seems that every week the rising junior lands on another watch list, preseason ranking or NFL Draft board. The latest praise comes from ESPN.com’s Eli Lederman and Max Olson, who included Baugh in their ranking of college football’s top running backs.
Baugh didn’t top their list but he came close.
Lederman and Olson have him in the No. 2 spot, behind only Kewan Lacy of Ole Miss. Here is what they wrote about Baugh:
Baugh’s stats may not jump off the page, but his combination of size, quickness and agility made him a popular name among the college talent evaluators surveyed by ESPN and the target of an awful lot of pre-portal tampering last season, according to sources.
“He might be the best running back in the country,” one SEC personnel director said.
“Baugh might be one of the best backs I’ve ever watched on tape,” a Big Ten scout added.
After a breakout freshman campaign in 2024, Baugh remained one of the few consistent catalysts for a Gators offense that ranked 111th nationally in scoring last fall. A second-team All-SEC selection, he trailed only Lacy and Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy among the conference’s rushing leaders, finishing tied for seventh nationally in forced missed tackles (81) and 12th in yards after contact (782), per ESPN Research.
The complete list was as follows:
Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss
Jadan Baugh, Florida
Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami
Isaac Brown, Louisville
Hollywood Smothers, Texas
Raleek Brown, Texas
Justice Haynes, Georgia Tech
LJ Martin, BYU
(tie). Caleb Hawkins, Oklahoma State/Nate Sheppard, Duke
Four of those players are on UF’s 2026 schedule: Lacy, Hardy, Smothers and Brown.
Baugh rushed for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns last season while adding 210 receiving yards on 33 catches. The Atlanta native was third in the SEC in rushing in 2025 as he finished behind only Hardy and Lacy. He became the 10th running back in Florida history to eclipse 1,000 yards in a year and the first since 2015.
Baugh capped the season with a 266-yard effort in UF’s win over FSU.
He now has 1,843 rushing yards over two seasons, giving him a real shot to become just the sixth player in Gators history to rush for 3,000 career years. Errict Rhett is the school career rushing leader with 4,163 yards.
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