Haynes King’s Canton Spark Offers A Blueprint For Florida’s Buster Faulkner

(UAA Photo)

Friendly competition enhances relationship of Philo (l) and Jones.

Haynes King’s big night in Canton was more than a nice preseason story. It was a reminder for Florida that, in today’s football, quarterbacks have to do more than read progressions and throw on schedule.

King made plays with his arm, his legs and, most importantly, his instincts. When the play broke down, he did not.

That should be music to the ears of new Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, brought in by coach Jon Sumrall to revive a Florida offense that has too often looked like it needed jumper cables. Faulkner arrives after directing Georgia Tech’s productive offense, and his first job in Gainesville is clear: Make the quarterback dangerous again.

The wrinkle, of course, is that DJ Lagway is no longer part of the equation. The former Florida quarterback transferred to Baylor after two seasons with the Gators, leaving Faulkner and Sumrall to identify the next man for the job.But the lesson from King still applies. Florida’s next quarterback needs structure, certainly — but he also needs permission. Permission to pull the ball down. Permission to extend a play. Permission to turn a collapsing pocket into a first down, or maybe a touchdown.

King’s final Georgia Tech season under Faulkner was his most complete: 2,967 passing yards, 953 rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns in 12 games, with a 69.8% completion rate. He set the Yellow Jackets’ single-season total-offense record with 3,920 yards.

The evidence says Faulkner made King materially better, rather than simply disguising his weaknesses. King’s completion percentage improved from 61.6% in 2023 to 72.9% in 2024, and he threw only two interceptions in 2024 after tossing 16 the year before.

His progress was particularly evident in footwork and intermediate accuracy — two areas directly connected to whether a mobile quarterback can operate on schedule rather than live off improvisation.

Did King reach his potential?

The fair answer to the question is: Faulkner elevated King’s college game, while NFL preparation 77remains an open question — not an indictment.

Faulkner gave King a system that stressed defenses with tempo, quarterback movement and the run game, allowing him meto sharpen his footwork, accuracy and confidence. That helped turn King from a volatile transfer into an elite college playmaker.

But because Georgia Tech’s offense also gave King defined, quick answers and leaned heavily on his running ability, he arrived in the NFL still needing to prove he can win consistently from the pocket against pro coverages. His electric Panthers debut suggests he may be further along than the undrafted label indicated — but it does not erase the scouting questions.

What does that portend for the Gators’ next QB?

In the QB competition between Aaron Philo and Trammel Jones at Florida, Faulkner encourages a spirit of cooperation. And apparently it has worked.

“In the quarterback room, it’s an open book,” Philo said. “We don’t keep secrets. We’re all trying to help each other at the end of the day, and it’s not like I’m trying to keep anything in the playbook from anybody. If there’s something out there that I see, I’m going to tell them to help them out as much as I can.”

Faulkner is not be looking merely for a quarterback who can run his offense. He will be building an offense that lets his quarterback run free when the moment demands it.

That is what Haynes King did in Canton. And if the Gators can find that same blend of discipline and daring under Faulkner, then Florida might finally have something worth getting excited about again.

Seems the friendly competition is only enhancing the relationship of Philo and Jones.

What about his relationship with Aaron? How would Jones describe it?

“Very genuine; we get along very well, laugh, have fun. I think we want to see each other succeed, and I want to see him succeed, for sure. And I think that's why we both get along so well, because no matter who's going on the field, we want to see the other person be great.”

He was asked how important is it that the two of them compete healthily and work together to set that example for the team.

“The other guys see it, and they drive around us, and they love to see how we compete, and we still have a healthy relationship. I think the whole team sees it, and then that's what we want to take on everyone because everyone's competing. Everyone's competing for a starting spot — nothing's given. That's where the coaching staff has put emphasis on. So when they see things like that, they take it with their position group or whoever they're competing with, and they're doing it.”

He was asked what he has learned from Buster Faulkner. “To just to take what the defense gives you. To spread the ball to your athletes. 

That's pretty much been the word. Give the athletes the ball. And I think that's what being a part of a point guard is: not trying to do too much, not trying to be... there's a time to be a game manager and then a game changer. So I've learned that and then, I mean, just doing the extra things outside the facility and inside the facility to learn the offense because I knew — I want to play quarterback here.”

Do he and Philo hang out?

“Yeah, we hang out — golf. We go eat with the quarterbacks all the time. And then really just outside in the facility, just being able to get close to him, being able to just being able to laugh, giggle, have fun sometimes. I think that's what it is with them.”

So the whole quarterback room has a golf page and we’ve been playing golf. 

“Coach (Joe) Craddock plays golf, Coach (Steve) Spurrier plays golf. So Buster plays golf. So I'm like, ‘oh my gosh, I need to, I need to get in on this because they're going to play after later on in the day.’

And everybody was like, ‘You need to go get golf clubs. You need to go ahead.’ So I'm like, ‘All right, I'll go get some golf clubs. I'll go hit.’ So then that's how I got into it.”

Interesting that Steve Spurrier's passion for golf is still influencing the Gator quarterback room today. And maybe there’s a whole lot more to the HBC legacy, which would be a really, really good thing.