![Florida quarterback J. Tramell Jones Jr. (9) hands off to Florida running back Evan Pryor (21) at Heavener Football Complex in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5000,h_2812/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/213/01m0czk2bktdxpn53w0z.jpg "Florida quarterback J. Tramell Jones Jr. (9) hands off to Florida running back Evan Pryor (21) at Heavener Football Complex in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Most of the focus for Florida’s running back room has been squarely on Jadan Baugh. It’s no secret that Baugh is going to be the workhorse for the Gators, and Jon Sumrall made Baugh his priority to keep when he took the job in Gainesville.
But behind Baugh is an interesting battle for RB2 with the Gators, and one of the transfers Florida got this offseason could be a sneaky breakout star in 2026.
Jadan Baugh is Florida’s workhorse, but Evan Pryor could be the wild card
When Evan Pryor transferred from Cincinnati to Florida, it was one of those transfers that didn't generate massive headlines. Still, it was certainly intriguing to those who watched his film. We noted back in February that:
“Pryor is a good receiver out of the backfield with 25 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns while with the Bearcats and a home-run hitter, as evidenced by his 7.1 yards per carry average over the two seasons.“
Pryor met with the media on Tuesday and he talked about his journey in college football and he recognized that 2026 is his last chance to showcase what he can do on the field:
“These last two years at Cincinnati, I was building my game and putting things back together. So I feel like here, my last season of eligibility at Florida, you know, it's my time to really just put it all together as my final product.“
What makes Pryor interesting is how he fits in with the entirety of Florida’s running back room. As dominant as Baugh may be, he isn’t necessarily a “speedster” compared to some others. As Pryor admitted, that was part of what went into his decision to transfer to Florida:
“We're two different types of backs. That went into my decision as well. You don't want to go somewhere where they already kind of have your role sketched out for someone else.”
And this is also where Buster Faulkner’s offense comes into play. Under the regime of you know who, the Gators didn’t know how to utilize different skill sets. Everything was funneled into a box, and if you didn’t fit into that box, you were out of luck.
Under Faulkner, there is a dream of using a guy like Pryor to keep teams honest. There is easily a pathway where teams could bail deep to cover guys like Vernell Brown III or Dallas Wilson, leave the flat open, and all of a sudden Pryor is up the field for 20 yards.
As stated up top, he’ll still need to beat out Duke Clark for those snaps, but don’t sleep on Pryor being a key piece in 2026.
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