GAINESVILLE — Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith never did it at Florida.
Neither did the Gators’ all-time leading rusher Erricht Rhett or future NFL stars Neal Anderson or Fred Taylor.
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Jadan Baugh now sets his sights on making history for a program steeped in it.
The Gators’ season opener against Florida Atlantic Saturday night in the Swamp will begin Baugh’s pursuit of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season — something never achieved at Florida. But the unprecedented feat is an an afterthought for one of the SEC’s top tailbacks, who is focused on getting better.
“It doesn’t cross my mind because I don’t too much try to think about it,” he said. “My main focus is improvement each day. I try to tell all the guys: ‘Improvement is our best friend.’
“If we can improve each and every day, then we’ll get the result that we want on Saturday.”
As nearly four-touchdown favorties, the Gators could get past FAU without their best effort. But Baugh and Co. will push to set the tone for a turnaround season under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.
“Going into it with the mindset of just being tough, physical, relentless and being a very scrappy team, regardless of how the outcome is or how much adversary we face,” he said. “We’re just going to go out there and give our best at all times.”
Baugh is positioned to be the best version of himself.
The 20-year-old Georgian’s 266-yard, 38-carry masterpiece during last November’s 40-21 rout of Florida State ended a miserable four-win season with a burst of momentum for Baugh.
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The Gators’ strongest pound-for-pound skill position player, the 6-foot Baugh trimmed down a few pounds to 222 and added lean muscle in order to handle a similiar workload in a new offense under Buster Faulkner.
“Perfect game shape,” Baugh said.
He also won’t have to be a one-man show given the Gators’ tremendous depth at running back and receiver. No Florida players posesses Baugh’s unique skill set, either.
He can run between the tackles with power, bounce outside and beat defenders with elusiveness and speed, and serve as a sure-handed outlet in the passing game able to turn short receptions into long gains. This season, Faulkner might also line up Baugh in the Wildcat formation, where he’ll receive a shotgun snap and have the option to run, hand off or even throw.
Having been a safety, outside linebacker, defensive end, running back, quarterback, receiver and returner at Decatur Columbia, a small 2A school east of Atlanta, Baugh said, “I’m ready. Full package.”
The Gators won’t have to completely rely on him a season after injuries and a lack of depth decimated the team’s skill positions. Baugh is eager to see what his teammates can do.
“The way we look at it is anybody can go score, and we compete as we don’t want to come off the field because we know if somebody else gets on the field, it’s going to go for a touchdown,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what happens Saturday.”
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For Baugh, it could be the start of history in the making.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]