Jadan Baugh Speaks on Return to Florida, Navigating Outside Offseason Noise

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- It was pretty easy for Jadan Baugh to ignore the noise and rumors regarding whether he was leaving Florida or not, considering he doesn't keep his phone on him.

It also caused Jon Sumrall plenty of stress.

"In this day and age, you feel like everybody walks around with their phone constantly in their hand all the time. It's like, if it leaves their hand, they're gonna have some major life issue," Sumrall said on Tuesday. "The great thing about Jadan is that he doesn't walk around with his phone glued to his hand. The bad part is when you are trying to get him to stay on the football team, you sometimes are like, 'Hey, will you pick up the dagum phone?'"

Baugh said it was nothing personal.

"I’ve been like that all my life," he said. "My dad, they even had a problem with me not answering the phone because I’m more focused on what’s going on and where my feet are at.”

Jadan Baugh rushed for 107 yards on 27 carries in the Florida Gators' win over Texas. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

That natural ability to be in the moment may have caused some stress for Sumrall, but it is also what allowed him to focus on deciding whether or not to remain at Florida through the coaching change.

Baugh's re-recruitment to Florida after Sumrall's hiring is already well-documented. After rushing for nearly 1,200 yards as a sophomore, there was plenty of interest from other schools for Baugh to enter the portal.

Schools such as Texas and Georgia were rumored landing spots, especially considering the Longhorns hired former UF running backs coach Jabbar Juluke and the fact that Baugh is from Georgia.

Then there's Sumrall's efforts to retain him, which included a Christmas Eve visit from Sumrall and his family to the Baugh household just one day after Sumrall's father's funeral. Baugh, having never officially entered the portal, re-signed with the Gators on Jan. 6.

"For him to bring his family to come see me and to say that his dad wanted him to be here, that means the most to me, because that shows that you really, really care about your job," Baugh said. "You really, really care about what's going on with your players that you want."

Baugh's return despite not entering the portal was not as cut and dry as it seems, though, as he still had a decision to make. While social media experts had all but decided he was leaving because of his silence, Baugh turned to his family and friends back home for advice.

Those talks back home led to him thinking about his other home: the University of Florida.

"For me, it's more just knowing where home was. And that's what I definitely did in my thinking process," he told Florida Gators on SI. "I was like, I knew where home is. I knew where I wanted to be. So Florida is definitely the place."

Florida running back Jadan Baugh (13) celebrates after beating Florida State, 40-21. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sumrall's efforts, of course, played a role, but so did Faulkner's decision to leave Georgia Tech to become the offensive coordinator at Florida. Known for catering his offense to his athletes, Faulkner already had a vision in mind when he first recruited Baugh out of high school: get him the ball in as many ways as possible.

That vision resurfaced during Florida's re-recruitment of Baugh and is coming to fruition in spring camp. Baugh's rushing is the headliner. His ability to catch passes out of the backfield adds a level of threat. Faulkner is also experimenting with Baugh as a wildcat quarterback.

"Having him here, it’s meant to be," Baugh said. "Just having him around, understanding what I can do – I feel like he knows me a lot – him putting me in position to get the ball in my hands, I feel like that is perfect.”

That is the obvious thing to do in Sumrall's and Faulkner's eyes, and it makes it easy when Baugh is as versatile as he is. Sumrall said Baugh has "a lot of flexibility within the running back position" due to his ability to play quick and agile like a smaller back while standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 228 pounds.

"He made a play today out in space that he bounced and kind of spun out of the tackle, and I'm like, a guy that big to do that, that's really impressive," Sumrall said. "You see smaller backs do those type of movements all the time. He's been fun to watch."

As if his breakout campaign as a sophomore did not raise the expectations enough for 2026, Baugh's play in camp elevates them even higher. It is nothing too big for Baugh, though, who had to carry the workload in the rushing attack last season as injuries decimated depth.

He will have some help in 2026 with transfers Evan Pyror and London Montgomery as well as second-years Duke Clark and Byron Louis backing him up. Still, if the team needs him to carry the ball 38 times like he did against Florida State or take a backseat to his teammates, he does not care.

"I welcome it," he said. "Team success is everything to me. So if those guys come in and they're time to shine, I have no problem with that."

Florida running back Jadan Baugh had 38 carries for 266 yards and two touchdowns against Florida State. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That's not to say Baugh will be taking 2026 lightly. Now a junior, he is continuing to grow as a vocal leader, while also looking to continue developing his game. He also wants redemption after last year's 4-8 campaign.

"It gives me a lot of drive. Honestly, it makes me want to come into the facility to work a lot more," he said. "... I feel like last year, we weren't too urgent with going through the weight room and on the field. So they ain't doing this halfway, they really helped me."

It remains to be seen how much success Sumrall will have in his first year leading the program. A lot of it could come down to Baugh, but if that's the case, it is safe to say Sumrall is confident in his star running back.

"He's a very willing guy. He's coachable. He's a pleaser," Sumrall said. "He wants to figure out how can he do things the best of his ability. And it's our job to push him every day. Like, my job here, all the coaches' jobs here with Jadan is not to be his buddy.

"I don't care if he likes me. I mean, I hope he respects me. I want him to be great, and he can be, and we got to push him to be the absolute best of all the time he can be."