Jon Sumrall’s Florida Lands Major Transfer Portal Win, Retains Star Playmaker

With the change in leadership from Billy Napier to Jon Sumrall in the University of Florida’s football program, rumors and speculation have arisen about which players will enter the transfer portal and sign with a new team.

Jon Sumrall Retains Star Running Back for the Florida Gators

Today marks a big day for the Florida football program, as Sumrall managed to retain one of the team’s biggest stars. After much speculation, today it was announced (and confirmed by the player himself) that running back Jadan Baugh is returning to the Gators.

Florida RB Jadan Baugh has announced he’s returning for the Gators in 2026.

Baugh never entered the transfer portal but was certainly coveted by other SEC programs. https://t.co/bytRhvJLp8

— Max Olson (@max_olson) January 6, 2026

Despite losing players like DJ Lagway, Eugene Wilson III, and Aidan Mizell, the Gators were able to retain the most effective player on their offense from last season. In 12 games of his sophomore season, Baugh rushed for 1170 yards and eight touchdowns on 220 attempts. Additionally, Baugh caught 33 receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns. In PFSN’s College Football RBi, he ranked as the third-best running back in college football with an impact score of 93.4 and a letter grade of A, and he was the highest graded of all SEC running backs.

Comparatively, in his freshman year, Baugh rushed for 673 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games. He also caught four receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown. He ranked 86th in PSFN’s CFB RBi with an impact score of 75.0 and a letter grade of C.

The interesting thing about Baugh’s situation was that he never actually entered the transfer portal in the first place. There were numerous rumors of where he could transfer, and the one that gained the most traction was the University of Texas. Playing a part in these rumors was the fact that Texas hired Jabbar Juluke, who was Florida’s and Baugh’s Running Backs Coach, who wasn’t retained as part of Sumrall’s new staff.

It also made sense for Texas to target Baugh, considering four of their running backs entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of the season. These running backs are Quintrevion Wisner, CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson, and Rickey Stewart Jr. So far, Wisner and Gibson are the only ones to commit to a new school (Florida State and Purdue).

Next season, Baugh has the potential to be one of, if not the best, running backs in college football. It’s also very likely that he’ll declare for the draft at the end of the 2026 season and be one of the first running backs selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.