ESPN's Greg McElroy makes it clear where he stands on Jadan Baugh and Florida

This season promises to be a revival of running backs in the SEC and Jadan Baugh might be the most productive of the group.

Baugh finished with 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on 220 carries last season. The rising junior wasn't quite a total workhorse last season. Going into the FSU game, Baugh only had 20-plus carries in two games, but he was completely unleashed against the Seminoles, toting the rock 38 times for 266 yards, the second-most in Florida Gators history. With a new offense, Baugh promises to be even busier in 2026, and ESPN's Greg McElroy believes that he will lead the SEC in rushing yards over Ole Miss' Kewan Lacy.

"We know that Buster Faulkner is kind of building the Florida offense around him. And we know that Ole Miss is kind of deliberately trying to reduce Lacy's carry count to preserve him over the course of the season," McElroy said. "I think Baugh could get upwards of 260 carries. Where is Lacy gets only 230? I think Baugh will actually lead the SEC in rushing this year and not Kewan Lacy."

Could Jadan Baugh be the rushing King of SEC in 2026?

There are a nice crop of running backs in the conference this season and that's recognized by On3/Rivals' list of top 100 college football players, where Lacy is No. 12 and Baugh comes in at 17th. To make things interesting, Missouri's Ahmad Hardy actually comes in one spot ahead of Baugh at No. 16 and, as fans, let's all hope that Hardy is fully recovered from the gunshot wound in his leg by the time the season begins. Hardy actually led the SEC in rushing last year with 1,649 yards.

Getting back to Baugh, McElroy makes a good point about Faulkner and what should be a ground-based attack that revolves around Baugh. He is one of the toughest backs you'll find and his second-half performances against FSU and Mississippi State show that he gets tougher and harder to tackle as the game goes on. 

Lacy was second in the SEC with 1,579 yards on 306 carries. He also had an amazing 24 touchdowns. If you eliminate the three playoff games, Lacy's numbers go down to 1,279 yards on 258 carries. There's no question that Lacy will probably get a little less work in the upcoming season because this is Trinidad Chambliss' team and the offense is going to heavily feature his ability to make plays in the passing game and with his feet. 

Baugh will have to carry the Gators offense, especially early in the season, so the new starting quarterback, whether that's Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo or in-state option Tramell Jones Jr., can get their feet wet as a full-time starter. Faulkner is also going to be looking to establish a physical team and will place an emphasis on ball control. That plan should get Baugh over the 20-carry mark several times and put him in position to run for 1,500-plus yards and lead the SEC.  

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