With Faulkner doing the scheming, the UF offense has a look of explosiveness

(Photo by Eddie Gilley)

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change, that lives within the means available and works cooperatively against common threats.” – Charles Darwin, from “On the Origin of Species”

When he arrived at the University of Florida back in January after landing the offensive coordinator gig for Jon Sumrall, Buster Faulkner envisioned a scheme centered around the multiple talents of running back Jadan Baugh, who turned down fabulous amounts of NIL money to remain a Gator. Seven months later as the Gators open fall practice, Baugh is still the focal point but the supporting cast has expanded. Faulkner expected to adapt when he got the job, but that was to compensate for shortcomings. Little did he know at the time that he would be adapting to accommodate abundance at the running back and wide receiver positions. Nor did he know that he would have real competition at quarterback. This is a far better first year situation than the one Faulkner could have forecast when he took the job.

As fall practice begins, the running back and wide receiver positions are potentially among the best to be found in both the Southeastern Conference and the entire nation. At Georgia Tech, Faulkner ran a balanced offense that involved multiple backs and receivers which kept fresh legs in the game and kept opposing defensive coordinators burning the midnight oil to prep for plays and schemes designed to fit so many different skillsets. When he was coaching quarterbacks at Georgia, Faulkner helped turn former walk-on Stetson Bennett IV into a two-time national championship starter. His history with Bennett lends confidence that the Gators will be more than adequate even though Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones have exactly one career start between them.

There is an offensive line that remains a work in progress but the pieces of that puzzle seem to be coming together nicely thanks to the timely hire of former Gator offensive tackle and former Penn State O-line coach Phil Trautwein. What Faulkner showed at Georgia Tech is that he can deliver a high-powered offense even without a bunch of former 5-star recruits with a ton of starting experience. With Trautwein in charge of the O-line, the Gators should improve mightily on last year’s pathetic offensive production – 21.6 points, 341.3 yards per game, 136.75 yards per game on the ground.

While there are questions for the Gators as there are for every single Division I team regrouping this week to begin preparation for the grind that lies ahead, there are already more than enough answers to create an air of optimism that the predictable, inconsistent offensive days are going to be a thing of the past. Faulkner will still have to tweak things over the next four weeks, but adaptation is a particularly good thing to have on your side when you are blessed with talent, depth and speed, which the Gators have in abundance.  

Start with quarterback. Within days of taking the Florida job, Faulkner protégé Aaron Philo transferred to Florida from Georgia Tech. With incumbent Florida quarterback DJ Lagway in the portal and off to Baylor, Philo seemed a quick and easy fix at QB except for one teensy unforeseen problem named Tramell Jones Jr., a redshirt freshman who elected to stay at Florida rather than transfer out. Jones, it turns out, is every bit as talented as Philo. The only thing separating Jones from Philo at this point is the two years Philo spent with Faulkner at Georgia Tech. Both are dual threats with Philo perhaps the edge as a runner and Jones as a passer.

So they compete for a job that requires each of them to be “the toughest guy in the building mentally and physically.” Jones may have an advantage as a pure passer while Philo is a more instinctive runner, but they have the next four weeks to prove themselves capable.

Faulkner said Tuesday, “We’re going to find the best quarterback for the University of Florida and that guy is going to go out there and it's going to give us the best chance to win. We'll see when we make that decision. The one good thing is I can sit here and tell you I like them both. I think both have come a long way. I think you can win with both.”

During the next four weeks as the Gators prep for the season opener with Florida Atlantic, Faulkner will attempt to put both Philo and Jones through as many difficult, game-like situations as possible. His quarterbacks have to be playmakers, but they also have to be responsible stewards with the ball and cerebral enough to handle adversity.

“That's one thing I believe in is put them through as many difficult situations as we can, whether it's third-down pressures, two-minute drills, all those different things to kind of see where they're at when those opportunities come in games,” Faulkner said. “You judge a quarterback really on how well does he perform on third down and two-minute drills … They’ve got to protect the football. We want to see how they protect the ball. We're going to put them in a lot of tough situations. We'll throw the ball more in camp than we probably have here in the past, just to kind of see where we're at and see where those guys are."

Back in January, Baugh was the only known quantity in the running backs room but things changed for the better rather quickly. Baugh will no doubt be the lead back, but there is no shortage of talented guys who Faulkner will have to scheme into each week’s game plan. Duke Clark has recovered from last year’s injuries that curtailed a potentially decent season as the No. 2 back last year. Byron Louis, who played five snaps against Kentucky to earn a redshirt as a true freshman a year ago, has go-the-distance speed. From the portal, the Gators added Evan Pryor and London Montgomery, both of whom were top ten-ranked backs during their high school careers. Pryor signed with Ohio State then transferred to Cincinnati where he had two productive years as a multi-purpose back. Montgomery took a redshirt as a freshman at Penn State, then put together two productive seasons at East Carolina before transferring to Florida.

Baugh (1,170 rushing yards and 33 catches out of the backfield last year) is a legitimate superstar who could easily make All-America teams but he won’t have to wing it alone. With the depth and speed he has at his disposal, Faulkner can keep fresh legs in the game at all time and create mismatches on the edge and in the passing game when he gets these guys outside the box.

“I feel really good about where all those guys are,” Faulkner said. “I like that room. It's going to bring a lot more depth than we probably thought we had coming in, and we're going to have find ways to get some of those guys the ball too."

When he took the Florida job, Jon Sumrall prioritized keeping Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson out of the portal. He also retained under-used TJ Abrams, who has stretch the field speed that can back safeties out of the box. From the recruiting class, the Gators landed freshmen Davion Groce, Justin Williams, Marquez Daniel and Mason Jordan, one of the better recruiting hauls at the position in the country. From the portal he added Eric Singleton Jr. (Auburn), Micah Mays Jr. (Wake Forest), Bailey Stockton (Georgia Tech) and Jaylen Lloyd (Oklahoma State).  

Brown caught 40 passes as a true freshman last year while Wilson showed big play potential while battling through injuries. Abrams spend last season open but saw the football only 14 times. Prior to Auburn, Singleton caught 104 passes for 1,468 yards for Faulkner in two seasons at Georgia Tech. Mays is a big play guy comfortable outside or in the slot. Stockton is a possession guy who was Philo’s go-to guy in high school. A healthy Lloyd is a dangerous deep threat.

Faulkner has more speed and talent to work with than he ever had at Georgia Tech. He schemed a balanced offense that produced 47 touchdowns scored by 14 different players last year. Faulkner has a similar plan for the Gators. Spread the ball around to keep opposing defenses from shutting down the offense by keying on one or two guys.  

“When you look around our locker room … there's only one football, and it needs to go to a bunch of different guys in a bunch of different ways, and we're going to try to do that," Faulkner said.

An explosive offense has been lacking at Florida since Dan Mullen’s 2020 Gators averaged 39.8 points per game. There is far more talent available than what Buster Faulkner thought he was going to work with when he accepted Jon Sumrall’s offer to come to Florida as the coordinator. Now it is simply a matter of Faulkner adapting the play calling and the scheme to fit the situation.