GAINESVILLE — Jadan Baugh wanted to tell Jon Sumrall he was sorry.
On Sunday, Florida’s star tailback picked up his phone and texted his head coach to apologize for the 13-yard day during a one-sided loss at Missouri.
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“He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m sorry. I won’t let that ever happen again. I didn’t play my best,’ ” Sumrall said Monday. “I love Jadan because he owned it and he’s ready to move forward.”
Baugh’s message conveyed his character, yet also was out of character. So untethered is he to his mobile device, Sumrall could not get in touch with Baugh when it was unclear where he’d play in 2026.
“For a little while in December, I could never get a hold of him,” Sumrall recalled. “So for him to reach out unsolicited on a Sunday after the loss was encouraging.”
Of all the Gators who didn’t show up during Saturday’s 45-17 loss at Missouri, Baugh stood out. The Tigers corralled the SEC’s leading rusher, ended his five-game streak of 100-yard games and sent him to the sideline forlorn and frustrated.
Without Baugh setting the tone, Florida’s offense floundered.
The Gators entered the day averaging 53.5 points — second nationally — but scored their fewest points at Missouri since a 45-16 loss in 2017 under interim coach Randy Shannon. Florida’s 532.5 yards per game ranked fifth, but the Gators finished with just 325 yards — 94 of them on a late touchdown drive with the game out of reach.
Missouri targeted Baugh from the jump, tackling him for losses on four of six carries during the opening drive. The No. 16 Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) still managed a field goal, but lost their chance for seven points when quarterback Aaron Philo didn’t see Duke Clark wide-open on a screen pass on third-and-goal from the 3.
Forced to shoulder the offense without the threat of a run game and under consistent pressure behind a leaky offensive line, Philo finished a modest 21-of-34 for 197 yards and a touchdown for a season-low passer rating of 120.1 — 62 points below his season average entering Saturday.
“The way we’re built, we do not need to be living in a drop-back pass game the entire game,” Sumrall said. “We need to play complementary football. We need to be able to stay on schedule.”
Baugh had kept the Gators ahead of the chains during their 4-0 start and rise to No. 8 in the national rankings.
Along the way, he rushed for league-leading 600 yards and a nation-best 11 touchdowns to put himself squarely in Heisman conversation.
Missouri beat Florida to the punch up front, closed running lanes and forced Baugh to bounce outside, where the Tigers swarmed him.
“They forced us to take the ball where we didn’t really want to take it,” Sumrall said. “We might have missed one or two runs as well, but I think they did as good job as anybody I’ve seen in how they attacked us.”
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Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who was at South Alabama during Sumrall’s two seasons at Troy (2022-23), also benefited from the absence of Florida leading receiver Vernell Brown III.
A knee injury sidelined Brown and left offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner without a critical piece to his attack. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound sophomore excels on screen passes because of his ability to run after the catch, while also offering a down-field threat.
“It affects you for sure,” Sumrall said. “He’s a guy that I think can execute a lot of different things for us offensively that can stretch the defense out. When you take him off the field, maybe there’s some things that we don’t do as well without him out there.”
Brown was medically cleared to practice Monday, Sumrall said, but also didn’t fully participate. His status for Saturday’s homecoming visit from South Carolina (2-3, 0-3) will be determined as the week progresses.
“He has the ability to run, but he’s just got to see how confident he is in cutting it loose,” Sumrall said.
Meanwhile, senior receiver Eric Singleton Jr. continues to return to full health from a high-ankle sprain suffered during the opening series of the Gators’ Sept. 5 win against Florida Atlantic.
Singleton played just 22 snaps last Saturday and managed just one catch for nine yards and lost seven on an end-around.
“He fought through maybe not being anywhere near 100 percent,” Sumrall said. “But we need to get him back healthy.”
The Gators also need Baugh at his best to bounce back against struggling South Carolina before an Oct. 17 visit to No. 1 Texas and Oct. 31 date with No. 2 Georgia in Atlanta.
The 21-year-old, a likely future first-round NFL draft pick, hopes he can ignore his phone the rest of the season. Sumrall is confident Baugh will do whatever it takes to get back on track.
“You have a great appreciation for guys that want to step up and go, ‘Hey, we’re going to get this fixed. I want to take ownership of my part of this,’” Sumrall said. “It speaks to their character.”
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Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
Up next
What: South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC) at UF (4-1, 2-1)
When: 12:45 p.m., Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
TV: SEC Network
Favorite: Florida by 14.5 points