GAINESVILLE — Florida’s 66-point night against FAU on Saturday was a record-setting and rousing start for Buster Faulkner’s offense.
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Just wait, Duke Clark said.
“Y’all ain’t see nothing yet,” the sophomore running back said Tuesday.
Faulkner’s bag of tricks is deep. The 44-year-old’s creativity aims to keep the Gators a step ahead, while his quest for perfection keeps players on their toes.
Since spring practices began in March, Faulkner reinforced his offense’s fine points endlessly, hoping it would become second nature. By the time the Gators took for the field for their season opener, they’d performed more than 10,000 repetitions, according to his meticulous accounting.
Author Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule for mastering one’s chosen field might not quite apply. Yet that many snaps made an impression on Faulkner’s players.
“That is a crazy number,” Clark said. “I had to ask him again, like, ‘You sure we did 10,000?’ He was like, ‘I tallied it up.’ ”
Faulkner demanded flawless execution on each and every snap.
“If anything goes wrong, he’s on us,” Clark said. “He’s like, get back to it, restart, redo it.”
The former national championship quarterback at Valdosta State doesn’t settle, believing his high standards will translate to the game.
“Great teams practice hard,” Faulkner said. “The scoreboard is going to take care of itself Saturday night. It’s all about the preparation leading into the game. We want the game to be slow for them by the time we get there, and we want the week to be chaotic. We want it to be hard.
“As the week goes on, it gets more mental — the plan will shrink.”
Yet, Faulkner’s vision for his offense is constantly expanding. During meetings, he’ll come up with plays on the fly and jot them down.
“We got a playbook,” Clark said.
Against FAU, Faulkner didn’t need to dig into it too deeply as the Gators produced the most points during a first-year head coach’s home debut at Florida.
The Owls fielded one of the nation’s worst defenses in 2025 and were no match for an offense stocked at the skill positions.
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Tailback Jadan Baugh was virtually unstoppable, averaging 11.4 yards while gaining 160 yards and scoring three times on 14 carries.
Faulkner has seen his share of elite backs, having split his past six seasons at Georgia (2020-22) and Georgia Tech (2023-25). The 6-foot, 222-pound Baugh, though, is different. He displayed Barry Sanders-like agility on a 7-yard run, leaving two FAU defenders grasping for air.
“For a guy his size, his lateral quickness and twitch is off the charts,” Faulkner said. “To be a great back, that’s probably the No. 1 trait you got to have. It’s fun to watch. We didn’t even block the guy, and he made him miss.
“That’s where coaching’s overrated.”
Some of Baugh’s other runs, however, exemplified the expectations of new head coach Jon Sumrall’s staff.
Baugh’s career-long 61-yard run began when 5-foot-11, 178-pound receiver Vernell Brown III drove back an FAU defensive back at the snap to help pave a running lane. Receiver Micah Mays Jr. made key blocks on a 25-yard run by Baugh and his 6-yard touchdown.
“You’re not going to have explosive runs if those guys aren’t down there making the blocks and the extra effort,” Faulkner said.
The hard-nosed approach by Florida’s receivers starts at the top with Sumrall.
“There’s a lot of guys that just put the toughness on the wall and say it every once in a while,” Faulkner said. “He coaches it. He preaches it. He teaches it, not just once, not twice. He does it all the time. That’s the way it should be. He’s not only coaching the players through those things, but heck, that’s coaching coaches, too.
“It’s part of who we’re going to be. It’s in the DNA of the program.”
Faulkner’s DNA is rooted in Xs and Os, while making sure players are on the p’s and q’s.
Faulkner’s first game as Florida’s OC was impressive. But if Clark is right, it was only the beginning.
“It’s one week at a time,” Faulkner said. “We’re on to the next game, next opponent at this point. And so, how good do you want to be?”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
Up next
What: Campbell (2-0) at UF (1-0)
When: 5:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
TV: SEC Network+
Favorite: UF by 49.5 points