SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 22, 2026

Jadan Baugh

Florida Gators

Press Conference

Q. Why did you decide to come back to Florida with the coaching change, and what sold you so far about this coaching staff?

JADAN BAUGH: 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. They came around and embraced me with open arms just to keep going. And it was the greatest (lost audio) to me (indiscernible).

But with the coaching staff, they came in with the fire in their eyes. And I told everybody that. When the coaching staff come in with a fire in their eye and they're ready to just go, I'm ready to play right then and there.

Q. I want to get your perspective of how they've talked to you about how you're going to fit into this offense, obviously coming off a fantastic 1,000-yard rushing last season. How do they plan to duplicate that for you heading into the season next year?

JADAN BAUGH: Well, Coach Buster, he recruited me out of high school when he was at Georgia Tech. We had a real good relationship. He was talking to me day in and day out, and he was just telling me how he could use me in the offense, at quarterback, running back, anywhere on the field. I feel like that's definitely gonna get displayed this year.

Q. What messages from Coach Sumrall have really stuck out to you and to the team. And that fire, has that permeated to the rest of the team?

JADAN BAUGH: Definitely. The fire has spread throughout the team. The main messages that I got from just the staff in general, even Coach Sumrall, is when things are going bad, we all say good. When we're facing adversity, we all say good, just because that's what builds character.

When you are in adversity times, that's what helps us. So I know each and every day we come out there, the coaches are trying to put us behind the wall, behind the line. But we also just look at it and be like, let's go.

Q. With DJ Lagway leaving, how is the running back group adjusting to the two redshirt quarterbacks?

JADAN BAUGH: Again, those two quarterbacks are great quarterbacks. They're gonna be able to display their talents this year.

But in the running back room, we stick to the same plan every day -- go out there, work hard, just put our best efforts on the field, because each and every day you're fighting for a job. And all of us know that it's competitive, but also we're brothers as well.

Q. There's been a lot of saying that the talent hasn't matched the results. Why is it going to be different now under Coach Sumrall?

JADAN BAUGH: We always had the pieces. It was just more of the inside stuff with the team as to buying into the process, understanding the process a lot more just to keep going. And I feel like this year we have a lot of guys who want to and a lot of guys who is willing to sacrifice anything for the team.

There's been times when Coach had to tell us to stop and chill out just because we were putting so much on our bodies. I feel like it's going to be very exciting this year.

Q. You guys are playing Georgia this year in Atlanta. Obviously you're an Atlanta native. Have you thought about the emotions of that game as far as the hometown reception? And obviously being one of your bigger rivals, how much would it mean for this program and for you guys to get over the hump and beat them?

JADAN BAUGH: A rivalry game in general is exciting just because there's so much around it. And we played this game in Jacksonville a couple times. It was always exciting because you see the red and you see the blue and it gets loud at one time and then it got loud another time.

But being able to go back home and play in front of my family and all my friends, it's very exciting for me. And I'm not too much focused on that. I'm more focused on the game, though.

Q. Obviously the top of your list of team goals. What individual goals are you aspiring to meet to make those team goals successful?

JADAN BAUGH: Becoming the best leader I can because we have a lot of guys who were transfers. We've got a lot of young guys that came in. You've got a lot of guys who stayed. But being able to the best leader I can to teach them to just keep going and facing adversity, I think that's the main goal for me right now, to just help us be successful.

Q. I know it's a lot on the offense, you're on the offense, but going up against the defense in spring ball, what are you seeing from this Gators defense this year?

JADAN BAUGH: Fast, electric. You've got a lot of guys who is just ready to just put the pads on now even. So I feel like that group in general, they're going to be very, very tough to be able to score on because coach (indiscernible), they come around every day. They usually hear them yelling.

And that excites me a lot more too because I know my defense is ready to just go out there and kill anybody in front of them.

Q. Over your past few years at Florida, what has been your favorite stadium that you guys have traveled to and which one are you looking forward to most this season?

JADAN BAUGH: Again, there's nothing like The Swamp in general. I don't too much see another stadium that I'm just ready to just play other than The Swamp.

Q. With the coaching change this past offseason, a lot of uncertainty. But what was the process of Coach Sumrall and his staff of making sure to get you back on campus and get you back with this roster? Do you remember anything that stuck out that made it feel special in any sort of way?

JADAN BAUGH: People don't know it, but he came to my grandmother's house on Christmas Day. And we sat there and just talked about everything, and that stuck out to me the most because that show 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?

Q. Jadan, what to you has been the biggest difference you've seen so far since spring ball with this new coaching staff compared to the previous coaching staff?

JADAN BAUGH: Well, I can say for a fact that the coaching staff now, we have a lot more guys into to certain areas as we have OC, we have a defensive coordinator. You have the guys who stand around and help, you know?

They all coach us like it's the last day. And with that, I feel like that makes us better each and every day and they push us 24/7.

Like Coach Buster, he always tells me, high and tight, high and tight. He's screaming, you're going to hear him as soon as you walk in the building and as soon as you walk out.

Q. You spent last year with Hayden Hansen, a tight end who just transferred to Norman. What are the Sooners getting from him?

JADAN BAUGH: Hayden is a great player, obviously. He can do a lot. I remember this one time, we were playing Tennessee or something, and he lost on a rep or whatever. He told me and the rest of the running backs, that's never going to happen again. So he's going to be a fighter, regardless.

Q. Another September Saturday up in Gainesville, you're standing in the tunnel at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium again. You look out, you see all those Gators, they're chomping, do you still get goosebumps?

JADAN BAUGH: Every time. Before I even touch campus, I get goosebumps, just because it's different. I don't think you'll ever get that feeling nowhere else. Because I seen it as a recruit, as a fan. I've also seen it as a player now. So being able to get goosebumps in a place like The Swamp, I feel like that's an honor.