The Gators don’t know exactly who they are on offense yet, and that’s perfectly fine with Florida’s new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner.
Florida’s offensive identity will take shape around its personnel, evolving through what works and what doesn’t as the program moves toward the 2026 season.
“I’m all about winning, and what it takes to win,” Faulkner said on Wednesday. “So we’re going to adapt to our guys. We’re going to throw a lot at them here early, as much as we can, see where that kind of falls. I’ve got a pretty good idea of the foundation that we’re going to do and what we’re going to be, but we’re going to do what they’re really good at and try to do it a bunch of different ways.”
Any coach can say it, but Faulkner has a strong track record of versatility within his offensive schemes and play calling.
Over 11 seasons as an offensive coordinator across six programs, Faulkner led multiple passing attacks that ranked top 20 nationally, including Southern Miss, Murray State, and Arkansas State. Murray State and Arkansas State both finished in the top five nationally.
While Faulkner’s offense is rooted in Air Raid principles, his approach shifted at Georgia Tech in 2023, where he built the offense around the running ability of quarterback Haynes King.
Collectively across his three seasons at Georgia Tech, Faulkner’s offense ranks first in the ACC in rushing at 197.8 yards per game. The Yellow Jackets rank 14th nationally in rushing offense since 2023.
Faulkner isn’t tied to a single offense or scheme. He adapts to what works, and it may change from year to year.
Getting the receivers involved
It’s no secret Florida is loaded with skill at wide receiver. Eric Singleton Jr., Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson, TJ Abrams, Davian Groce, Micah Mays, Bailey Stockton—the list goes on.
Faulkner plans on establishing a number of ways to get them the ball, including using them in the run game.
“I want to be able to push the field vertically, horizontally, over the middle, every which way we can. Get them involved in the run game. Whatever it takes,” Faulkner said on getting his receivers involved. “The thing about receivers is usually they’re the fastest guys on the team, and you can kind of look at what we’ve done in the past is how do we get them the ball in space so they can make plays? That’s looked different at a bunch of different stops for me.”
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve played around the strengths of the quarterback that we had, but that didn’t mean the receivers weren’t heavily involved in the gameplan,” Faulkner added. “You can look at when Eric [Singleton] was there, he had 22 carries for us for almost 200 yards. He was an extremely explosive player. We’re always going to get those guys involved because they’re the guys you can either throw short and run long or maybe pitch it to them and get an explosive play. So, they’re going to be a part of what we do.”
Emphasis on repetition
Faulkner prioritizes an organized and structured practice environment, focusing on the reps necessary to develop an offensive identity.
“I’m a true believer that these kids learn by doing and getting a bunch of reps, and we’ve got a lot of reps to go, “Faulkner said. “We’re a young football team, we’re going to be young at quarterback, pretty inexperienced upfront. So between now and the time we kick off in September, we’ve got to get a ton of reps, build continuity, find out who can play for us.”
Those reps will ultimately decide what Florida’s offense looks like, and who sees the field in 2026.
“We’re going to play the best players to give this place a chance to win games every Saturday afternoon.”