Jon Sumrall’s reason for hiring Buster Faulkner as offensive coordinator has Florida Gators on national title track
It’s not just about hiring the right coaches, but also doing it when they have a plan.
The Florida Gators knew they needed new head coach Jon Sumrall to have a plan coming into Gainesville, and it had to include an explosive offense.
Every great Gators team has had one thing in common: an top-tier offense. Steve Spurrier had nearly a dozen of them during his time with the Gators, and Urban Meyer did a great job across two national championship teams. The hiring of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to the same position was a big hire for the Gators due to his track record.
Jon Sumrall continues to prove he’s the right guy for the Gators
One of the biggest things that former head coach Billy Napier didn’t do when it came to his offense was adapt it to his players. That was the biggest reason why Sumrall hired Faulkner, as he had a lot of success running multiple styles of offense based on what personnel he had at the time.
“I think what makes Buster unique, and I think great coaches do this, is you have to be adaptable,” said Sumrall. “You look at his background or his past and more of a spread air raid, if you want to call it Mike Leach, type of offensive structure and system. Then Georgia was a part of more pro style with Todd Monken, when he was coaching the quarterbacks there. And then we went to Georgia Tech had to evolve again, with Haynes, more of a running quarterback who could throw it, but it was very much a running quarterback, and had to evolve again.”
At each stop, Faulkner played a big had in maximizing each offense. This past season, he made Haynes King look like one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
One of the big things that Sumrall did this year was not just go hire his friends. A lot of coaches will just hire guys they know because it’s easier. He made it a focus to bring in the best coaches, which is why he targeted Faulkner.
“From a defensive perspective, which is what my background is. When you evaluate offensive coordinators, you’re looking for people who can make the scheme fit the people you know, like everything’s player driven,” Sumrall added. “And I think you’ve seen Buster evolve and adapt to, okay, who’s my quarterback and what’s our O line do well, and then who are the skilled people you want to distribute the football to, and so that’s sort how that went.”
That is a big thing when it comes to maximizing your talent, and the Gators are on the right track for that. Plus, Faulkner is going to have a sounding board in quarterbacks coach Joe Craddock, who has been with Sumrall the last four years.
“It’s nice for Buster to to have coach [Joe] Craddock on staff, because Joe’s been with me, so there’s some familiarity, or maybe if Buster has a question I’m not right in the room, he can look over to his immediate right and go, ‘Hey, Joe. What’s coach think here? How’s he see this,” Sumrall said.
The vibes are great for the Gators, and now it’s about getting on the field, something we will see for the first time in March when spring practice opens.
Florida Gators News
Florida Gators HC Jon Sumrall has hilarious anecdote about Tim Tebow and the state of college football
Tim Tebow back in a Gators uniform would absolutely rule.
Florida Gators News
‘That’s absurd to me’ — Jon Sumrall has strong words for new scheduling format that could have a major impact on Florida Gators
It’s getting ridiculous for the fans of college football, not to mention the teams.
