Cincinnati transfer Evan Pryor arrived at UF with 1,087 career rushing yards after stops at Ohio State and Cincinnati. (Photo: Mia Tunon/UAA Communications)
Pryor Could Have Been The Guy, He Chose Florida Instead
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — He had options if he wanted to be the guy. Evan Pryor chose the one many players would have run from.
Truthfully, who could blame them? Florida had made retaining starting tailback Jadan Baugh a priority after his 1,170-yard sophomore season, with first-year coach Jon Sumrall and his family even making a home visit on Christmas Eve.
"Yeah, I heard about that,'' Pryor said this week.
All Baugh did in his last game was rush for 266 yards in a home win over Florida State, setting the stage for a much-hyped junior season, amplified recently by ESPN.com naming Baugh and Ole Miss' Kewan Lacy as the first-team running backs on its Preseason All-American Team.
But if you dig into Pryor's background, you learn he often zigs when others zag.
Evan Pryor looks for running room during a recent practice. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Take the start of his college career at Ohio State. When Pryor, a top-150 national recruit out of Cornelius, North Carolina, committed to the Buckeyes, he didn't try to scare fellow top-150 recruit and running back TreVeyon Henderson away from Columbus the way coaches from other programs did. No, according to then-Buckeyes running backs coach Tony Alford, Pryor was integral in convincing Henderson to join the Buckeyes.
"We were competing every day — video games, football. Whatever it was, it was competition,'' Pryor said. "Jadan is highly touted just like TreVeyon was. It's great."
And when Pryor suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee during preseason camp in 2022 on a wheel route out of the backfield, he grinded through rehab the best he could. Finally healthy and back on the field the following preseason, Pryor immediately ran another wheel route down the same sideline as a physical and mental test.
Meanwhile, as Henderson blossomed into a star for the Buckeyes and a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2025, Pryor transferred to Cincinnati in 2024. Once again, it didn't matter that bruising tailback Corey Kiner, now with the Arizona Cardinals, was coming off a 1,000-yard season for the Bearcats.
Pryor bet on himself. He did the same a year ago when Cincinnati added Wisconsin transfer Tawee Walker.
In his two seasons with the Bearcats, Pryor earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies and rushed for 940 yards with 25 receptions for 288 yards as a home-run threat to complement the between-the-tackles runs of Kiner (2024) and Walker (2025).
"I got to show my abilities,'' Pryor said this week. "I wasn't being used to the most of my ability. That was my entire reason behind finding a new school."
At 5-foot-9, 189 pounds, Pryor provides a change-of-pace option from Baugh, whose 38-carry outing against FSU resembled a performance out of the smash-mouth 1980s.
Pryor committed to the Gators the same day (Jan. 6) that Baugh announced on social media that he was staying at UF.
"I view myself as a top back in the country as well,'' Pryor said. "We both get a chance to feed off of each other. I've fed off of other backs in the past and vice versa, but with that being Jadan Baugh, it's a step up. Because of his production, everyone knows who he is and what he's done.
"I had opportunities to go be the No. 1 at other spots, but I don't think that's what it's about for me in my play style. I was never a guy who needed 20, 25 carries to be productive, or have two touchdowns, or go over 100 yards. Jadan's gonna do what he does with his amount of carries, and I feel like whatever comes after that between us and the [other] backs, we'll work it out, and it'll be fine. I'm going to make the play when my number's called."
Pryor started six games last season and finished with a career-high 76 carries and 522 yards. His best game was against Iowa State when Pryor rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati's 38-30 upset over the No. 14-ranked Cyclones.
"He's explosive. [Tuesday], during practice, he had a big run, outside zone,'' offensive lineman TJ Shanahan said. "And I love him. He's a great guy; he's a locker room guy. Always has a smile on his face, and he runs the ball really hard."
After his freshman season at Ohio State, and before the knee injury the following fall that sidelined him for a season, Pryor began making his mark with the Buckeyes in the spring of 2022.
"If he continues to grow and can hang onto the ball, he's going to have an impact on this offense,'' Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told the Columbus Dispatch.
Two schools and four years later, the Gators added a more polished veteran to the backfield to join Baugh, East Carolina transfer London Montgomery and second-year freshman Duke Clark atop the depth chart.
Pryor adds a special touch to the group.
"He was a guy that I feel like could give us a home-run guy that we didn't have,'' said running backs coach Chris Foster, who recruited Pryor out of high school.
With his final season approaching, the 23-year-old Pryor fits nicely into the backfield with or without Baugh.
He is confident the two can complement one another. Sumrall is, too.
"He's a smart kid. He's got some slashing, running style ability. A little different runner than Jadan,'' Sumrall said. "A different body type for sure. He's got good ball skills. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. Evan's done a great job."
