Gators' Jadan Baugh Named Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Week

Florida Gators freshman running back Jadan Baugh continues to rack up weekly accolades following a five-touchdown performance against Kentucky.

Oct 19, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh (13) runs past Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Zion Childress (11) during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- A day after being named the SEC's Freshman of the Week, Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh on Tuesday was named the Shaun Alexander Award Freshman of the Week, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.

In his first-career start, Baugh rushed for 106 yards and five touchdowns, which tied the program record for rushing touchdowns in a game with Tim Tebow (2007) and Trey Burton (2010). It was also the most rushing touchdowns by a true freshman since Burton's five in 2010, which also came against Kentucky.

"Gives me confidence, but also gives my team, too, as in we know we could have been did this as an offense and a defense," Baugh said. "Like the defense played great today. That gave us the opportunity on offense to do what we did today."

The Shaun Alexander Award, which was first given out after the 2018-2019 season, honors the top freshman in college football. Baugh is the first running back and third SEC player to be named a player of the week by the award this season.

Baugh's start came as a result of an injury to starter Montrell Johnson Jr., who left the team's loss to Tennessee a week prior with an apparent lower-body injury. Johnson Jr. was first listed as "out" on the team's Friday availability report, but he isn't expected to miss a lot of time.

With Florida on a bye, head coach Billy Napier will not have a public update on Johnson Jr.'s availability until Wednesday, Oct. 30, when the Gators release its next availability report.

Alongside fellow freshman DJ Lagway, the duo became the first freshmen quarterback-running back pair to start in the same game in UF history. The two were recently named to On3's "True Freshmen Standouts" list for Week 8.

"First of all, both were elite players coming out of high school that we worked extremely hard to prove this was the right fit for them. We had a vision for what they could accomplish here, person, student, and player, and a ton of people contributed to that," Napier said of the duo. "Both come from great families. Both have humility. Their work ethic is second to none, and they've been able to observe veteran players that do it exactly the way you would want a guy to do it."

The Gators return to the field on Nov. 2 for its yearly battle with Georgia, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville with television coverage on ABC.