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NCAA, College League, USA Football 2025: College Football PlayoffSemifinal Cotton Bowl Ohio State vs Texas JAN 10 January 10, 2025: Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian during a third quarter timeout in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic agains the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Austin McAfee/CSM/Sipa USA Credit Image: Austin Mcafee/Cal Media/Sipa USA Arlington AT&T Stadium Tx United States NOxUSExINxGERMANY PUBLICATIONxINxALGxARGxAUTxBRNxBRAxCANxCHIxCHNxCOLxECUxEGYxGRExINDxIRIxIRQxISRxJORxKUWxLIBxLBAxMLTxMEXxMARxOMAxPERxQATxKSAxSUIxSYRxTUNxTURxUAExUKxVENxYEMxONLY Copyright: xCalxSportxMediax Editorial use only
Imago
NCAA, College League, USA Football 2025: College Football PlayoffSemifinal Cotton Bowl Ohio State vs Texas JAN 10 January 10, 2025: Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian during a third quarter timeout in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic agains the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Austin McAfee/CSM/Sipa USA Credit Image: Austin Mcafee/Cal Media/Sipa USA Arlington AT&T Stadium Tx United States NOxUSExINxGERMANY PUBLICATIONxINxALGxARGxAUTxBRNxBRAxCANxCHIxCHNxCOLxECUxEGYxGRExINDxIRIxIRQxISRxJORxKUWxLIBxLBAxMLTxMEXxMARxOMAxPERxQATxKSAxSUIxSYRxTUNxTURxUAExUKxVENxYEMxONLY Copyright: xCalxSportxMediax Editorial use only
Steve Sarkisian is looking at nothing but redemption for next season, after the catastrophe that was the 2025 season. But those plans met a huge roadblock, with the loss of portal target Jadan Baugh. The Longhorns made a strong push for the RB, but Florida pushed harder.
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After weeks of mystery surrounding Baugh’s plans, he announced that he was staying at home in Florida after all. Jon Sumrall truly deserves props for pulling off the retention. But his celebration became Sarkisian’s headache. Among the schools vying for Jadan Baugh’s commitment, no one was making a bigger effort than Texas. Though the RB never announced his plans to transfer, the Longhorns were predicted as his next home.
BREAKING: Florida star RB Jadan Baugh has signed a new deal to return in 2026, @PeteNakos reports🐊https://t.co/7PIovAgDXK pic.twitter.com/nPBOueMrkp
— On3 (@On3sports) January 6, 2026
They had all the reason to hope for his commitment because Sarkisian hired former Gators RB coach Jabbar Juluke. The latter was the one to recruit Baugh out of high school and coached him for the entirety of his career. In 2025, the RB was able to haul in a total of 1,170 rushing yards on 220 carries and 8 scores. The yard total is the third highest in the SEC, despite Florida struggling all season long. Steve Sarkisian knows that pain well, and that’s why Texas was fighting to get Baugh.
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Texas is mounting yet another National Championship campaign on Arch Manning’s shoulders, who is in his last year of eligibility. Sarkisian has the chance to make history here, but that won’t be possible without a strong rushing attack. To make matters worse, this room is a massive hole in terms of talent and production. Texas lost 4 RBs to the portal, and three of them: Quintrevion Wisner, CJ Baxter, and Jerrick Gibson, held up the rushing game with Manning. The remaining leading rusher is Christian Clark, who only ran for 236 yards.
Texas’ rushing attack has been a reason behind its disappointing fall from grace this season. The Longhorns were rushing for only 127.9 yards per game, the lowest program average since 1944. Wisner and Baxter struggled with injuries, adding more strain on Manning and the inexperienced RBs. Additionally, poor offensive line play contributed to the team’s rushing troubles. The Texas QB now needs some serious support to back up his own production on the ground.
Steve Sarkisian is known to play boldly when it comes to recruiting, especially for top players like Jadan Baugh. But Florida, despite seeing a much worse turn of events than Texas in the season, was able to fight off a financially endowed program like Texas.
Florida is paying a lot to keep Jadan Baugh at Gainesville
Everything was in place for Jadan Baugh to move to Texas. His former coach was there, he had ample opportunities, and Florida was under a complete rebuild. After all, this is the same program that lost DJ Lagway, its crown jewel. However, Baugh will stay at Gainesville for a $1.3 million offer, instead of considering the $1.5 million that Texas offered, according to reports.
That number represents a significant increase for RBs in the House settlement era. According to CBS Sports, Quinshon Judkins was the highest-paid RB in 2024, who made around $650,000. Now, Baugh is breaking the myth of running backs not being valuable players in the market. Baugh is not even part of the On3 NIL 100, which ranks players based on NIL valuations.
Jadan Baugh is the first Florida RB to cross the 1000-yard mark in 10 years, which is why he’s extra special to Sumrall. Reportedly, even Georgia was targeting Baugh ahead of his decision to stay at Gainesville. Now, it is on Baugh to give Florida some impressive returns on that costly investment next year. Texas, however, will have to look elsewhere to find its next star running back.
