Jadan Baugh Returns to Florida Football. His Ceiling is Sky High
While the decision to come to Gainesville was a quick one for Foster, the decision for Jadan Baugh to return had Florida fans and coaches waiting.
Foster met with Baugh and his family the day after he accepted the job on Christmas Eve. Along with Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner, the group visited the Baughs’ home in Atlanta ahead of the transfer portal opening up.
“We were waiting a couple of weeks after the fact. It was a long, drawn-out process, but I felt really good coming out,” he said. “We explained how we were going to pour into him and serve him, and then it [the wait for Baugh to announce his return] just kept going and going.
New Gators running backs coach Chris Foster came over to Gainesville after spending two seasons at Duke University.
With the new job came the opportunity to coach one of the best rushers in college football. Florida returned its top sought-after player in the transfer portal in Jadan Baugh ahead of the 2026 football season.
“He’s an unbelievable human being. He’s one of the best human beings you can be around. If you get to spend time with him, he is amazing. He’s really good for that room [running back room] and that leadership role.
“He carries himself like a pro every day. Very respectful, on time, does all the little things right. He holds that room to a higher standard and accountability.”
Baugh totaled just under 1,500 all-purpose yards last season for the Gators, good for third in the SEC. With a brand new offensive line in front of him this season, Florida fans can be excited to see growth from their star running back.
“To me, he’s got a high ceiling. He understands and knows that. He had some runs last year that were efficient runs that could have been explosive if the attention to detail was there, and he knows that.”
Foster and Sumrall brought in two other running backs to help take some of the workload off of Baugh. Evan Pryor and London Montgomery transferred to Florida in the offseason. Both running backs will likely see significant reps during spring practice and potentially during the season.
Pryor has totaled just over 1,400 all-purpose yards and 12 total touchdowns in his 4-year career, where he spent the past two seasons at Cincinnati after transferring from Ohio State. Montgomery transferred to Florida from East Carolina, where he totaled over 1,300 all-purpose yards and 9 total touchdowns in his two seasons with the Pirates.
Foster says he’s very excited for spring ball to see how his “rep chart” finalizes and who grows the most. Gators’ spring practices begin March 3.
“Right now, we don’t have a depth chart; we have a rep chart. They have to earn it; just because you came in doesn’t mean you’re going to be given anything, and they know that,” Foster said.
“Evan is a guy I knew coming out of high school. We had some guys leave, and I felt like we needed some guys with some juice, and Evan presented that. He’s a guy that I felt could be a homerun guy that we didn’t have.
“With London, I was at ECU in 2022-23, so I followed the schools I’ve been at. I just watched him very closely, and he was a very productive back.”
The idea of coaching in the SEC at a school with lots of tradition and history was appealing to Foster.
“I was more than interested. To come and work at the University of Florida, which I think is one of the best jobs in the country,” Foster said. “It’s a program that has a foundation of winning SEC championships, national championships and producing Heisman trophy winners, so it was a no-brainer to come here.”
Category: Gators Football
