Florida targeting former staffer for return in front office role, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida is reportedly targeting a former recruiting staffer to return and work with the new staff.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that Drew Hughes could be returning to Gainesville in a front office role. Hughes helped lead Florida‘s recruiting efforts from 2014-17 under Will Muschamp (2014) and Jim McElwain (2015-17).
Florida is targeting Drew Hughes for a front office role, sources tell @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 29, 2026
Has most recently been a scout for the Senior Bowl after three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Was previously a college DPP for teams like South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. pic.twitter.com/O9nHOOxiVR
After his time at Florida, Hughes joined the Tennessee staff and oversaw UT’s recruiting efforts for multiple seasons. He reunited with Muschamp in 2020, taking the director of player personnel job at South Carolina.
In 2021, Hughes joined the Jacksonville Jaguars player personnel staff. He spent 3 seasons with the club. Interestingly, Florida’s new general manager, Dave Caldwell, is also a former Jaguars staffer. Caldwell was the Jaguars GM from 2013-20. Trent Baalke, Caldwell’s successor, hired Hughes in 2021.
Hughes is an Alabama alumnus. He got his start as a student recruiting assistant for Nick Saban‘s Crimson Tide squad from 2007-11. He also worked at NC State (2012) and UCF (2013).
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
