“I have a lot of confidence”: Florida’s running game should be a strength behind sophomore Jadan Baugh
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Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh made an immediate impact in Gainesville, rushing for a team high 673 yards and seven touchdowns as a true freshman in 2024. As crazy as it sounds, Baugh didn’t realize he wanted to play on offense until his senior year at Columbia High School in Decatur, Goergia. When Florida’s staff went to visit Baugh, they thought they were recruiting a linebacker. Baugh was a standout defensive player, logging snaps at outside linebacker, safety, and defensive end, combining for 180 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 11 pass deflections, and eight interceptions across three years at the varsity level.
“I feel like a lot of teams came in and didn’t know what I wanted to play. And I didn’t either, you know, I just want to be on the field,” Baugh said on his recruitment. “Coach Nape and them came in asking me, like, ‘Do you want to play on the defensive side of the ball or offensive side of the ball?’ I told him, like, ‘I love both sides of the ball. I just want to keep going through the process’, and when it came to my senior year, you know, I definitely decided to be on the offensive side of the ball.”
It wasn’t until his senior season that Baugh made a significant impact at running back, rushing for 1,583 yards on 14.0 yards per carry. In the two seasons prior, Baugh ran the ball a combined 17 times.
After deciding to play running back at the next level, Baugh built a strong relationship with coach Jabbar Juluke, which was the main selling point for him.
“Coach Juluke, you know, he’s a great guy, and he’s definitely not just going to be a coach. He’s going to be, you know, off the field, like an uncle. I think of him as an uncle. He’s not just, you know, teaching me about, you know, football. He’s teaching about life and how to become a better person,” Baugh said.
The expectations are through the roof for Baugh after a standout freshman campaign and impressive offseason in the weight room. Strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles recently claimed that Baugh is the pound for pound strongest player on the team, even stating he’s the strongest player they’ve had at UF since they starting tracking this information.
“Coach Miles be on my head a lot into getting stronger, putting the right things in my body, so I can, you know, continue to get stronger and, you know, produce on the field,” Baugh said.
Baugh claimed he squatted 565 pounds this offseason.
While the 6’1, 231 pound [sophomore] back may be viewed as a bruiser that only plays on early downs due to his massive frame, Baugh spent the offseason improving as a pass catcher and blocker in an effort to become a three down back.
“I stay on the jugs honestly, you know. I think that’s a big focus for us as a running back, because, you know, you got to be able to be an every-down back, so catching the ball is just, you know, priority for me,” Baugh said.
Baugh believes his versatile high school background, which included some quarterback play in his senior season, has helped him as a pass blocker early in his career.
“I can say it helped me a lot, just seeing the field in, like, different ways. And so being at quarterback, I can see what coverages they have. And, you know, transitioning to running back in the same game, i helps me, like, understand what they’re playing, what holes are going to be open, and what blitzes are coming.”
There’s high hopes for Florida’s running game entering Billy Napier’s fourth year. The Gators will lean on a two headed monster in Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson, who will run behind an offensive line that returned four of five starters from last season.
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