New Florida football offense coordinator Buster Faulkner began his playing and coaching career at Valdosta State in an Air Raid system that traces back to Hal Mumme and the late Mike Leach.
That doesn’t mean Faulkner isn’t open to new ideas.
Shortly after taking the job last December, Faulkner received a few notepads from the HBC himself, former Florida Gators icon coach Steve Spurrier.
“It was good, a lot of good plays,” Faulkner said. “Like I said, yes,, he sent me that, I had a chance to talk to him a couple times, I had a chance to talk to coach (Urban) Meyer a couple times, you know, Steve Addazio was here last week and spoke to the team.
“So you’re able to pick all those guys’ brains about what it was like when this place was rolling. So taking all that in and try to morph it into our own and bring that back, hopefully.”
Faulkner was hired away from Georgia Tech as offensive coordinator with the Yellow Jackets. Faulker led the second-ranked offense in the ACC, and the 11th-ranked offense nationally, which averaged 460.0 yards per game.
Florida is coming off a season in which it ranked 13th in the SEC and 104th nationally at 341.3 yards per game. Against FBS opponents last season, the Gators averaged a dismal 18.6 points per game. But Faulkner is inheriting a roster with offensive talent at the skill positions, led by second-team preseason All-SEC running back Jadan Baugh, who rushed for 1,170 yards and 8 TDs last season.
Faulkner understands Florida football fans are craving for the high-powered offenses of the Spurrier era in the 1990s and Meyer era in the late 2000s.
“I hope they do,” Faulkner said. “That’s what I want. That’s what these kids want. That’s what Coach Sumrall wants. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to be here. I mean, when you think of Florida football, you think of, you know, I go all the way back to Coach Spurrier and all the things he did when he was here. I’ve always said this. He was on the cutting edge of it.
“And then, you know, Urban Meyer, watching his offenses. They were fun, too. They were physical, violent. I think we want to kind of be a combination of both of them.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football OC Buster Faulker talks Steve Spurrer, ‘fun’ offense
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
