Jadan Baugh is living up to the hype for Florida Football

Coming out of the Spring Game, one player for Florida Football, in particular, caught the eye of everyone who was either in attendance or watched the game on TV. But even for the most optimistic of fans, there was a little voice in the back of everyone's head that said "Yeah, but that was a spring game."

With injuries running rampant in Florida's running back room, we were able to see on Saturday that what we saw in the spring wasn't a mirage.

Florida Football: Run The Baugh

Jadan Baugh was a late add for the Gators in their class of 2024. While Florida had KD Daniels already commited, Baugh opted to flip from Arkansas to sign with Florida.

We noted coming out of the spring game that:

"Baugh looks like a wrecking ball, but on Saturday also showed off he is more than a straight ahead runner.

Baugh ran the ball 12 times for 77 yards and despite his size he had some great cut backs that one would expect from someone weighing 185 pounds, not 237.

We wouldn't be surprised if Baugh challenges Treyaun Webb for snaps once the fall comes around."

Fast forward to this week and with Montrell Johnson and Treyaun Webb out, Baugh was called upon as the lead back against Kentucky.

The end result: 22 carries, 106 yards, five touchdowns.

That's good right?

I think that's good.

Baugh tied a school record for rushing touchdowns in a single game, originally set by Tim Tebow (also against Kentucky) and Trey Burton (hey look, also against Kentucky).

The SEC and On3 named Baugh the Freshman of the Week and it sets the stage for Florida's next opponent coming out of the bye week.

As we know, Georgia has a certain somebody at running back who used to be a Gator, and in truth, Baugh was able to have his opportunity Saturday because someone else wanted to take his talents to Athens.

We know one thing for sure, Baugh is a better pass blocker than his predecessor. Whether he can wind up the better all-around back remains to be seen, but if Saturday was any indication, the Gators got a massive flip last December, which they hope continues to pay dividends for years to come.