Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner made one thing clear in his pre-fall camp press conference: the goal is to get the Gators' offense back to how it was when UF was competing for championships.
Faulkner believes in the old-school style, playing "physical" and "violent," the kind of offense Steve Spurrier had in the '90s or Urban Meyer had in the 2000s. Getting the best guys on the field, and the best playmakers the ball are both key points for Faulkner. He's willing to adapt to his personnel while helping them develop into the kind of players he wants in his system.
Running back Jadan Baugh and receiver Dallas Wilson were two names that stuck out at the skill position, but Faulkner insists that both position rooms are deep. So much
so that Faulkner has to make sure he's getting everyone a chance to touch the ball.
The offensive line is still a work in progress, but there's been a lot of growth. Faulkner identified center Harrison Moore, who followed him from Georgia Tech to Florida, as the leader in the trenches.
Finally, the quarterback question remains up in the air. Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. are battling it out, but Faulkner won't set a timeline for a decision. He likes the growth both players have shown, but there is no official starter as fall camp begins.
Here's everything Faulkner said on Tuesday.
What did you see from Aaron Philo and the rest of the quarterbacks in terms of processing terminology and becoming comfortable within the offense?
Yeah, this summer was big for him. They get a lot of reps, seven-on-seven, do some team stuff on their own. We weren’t around them the whole summer, so I can’t sit here and say I know exactly how far they’ve come. But I know that they were making great strides at the end of spring.
When we were around in June, the leadership qualities, really, all of those guys had started to take off. They kind of ran the summer. We wanted them to run the summer as much as they could, and they did a great job with that.
What does it take to be a quarterback in your system, and what are you looking for?
You’ve got to be the toughest guy in the building, mentally and physically. It’s not easy to play this position, especially in this league. What they’ve got to go through each week, the defenses we’re going to see, the crowds we’re going to play against, all those things.
You’ve got to be mentally and physically tough to be a great quarterback in this system, or really in any system. That’s the No. 1 thing that I believe in, and that’s the No. 1 thing we’re looking for.
What kinds of situations will you put the quarterbacks through during camp to make sure they are ready?
Yeah, absolutely. Definitely, both ready, okay? Then we’ve still got Aidan Warner and Will Griffin, and we’re going to try to get them ready as well, too. A lot of different scenarios. We want to put them through tough situations. 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.
You judge a quarterback really on how well does he perform on third down and in two-minute, especially, like I said, in the SEC. Obviously, in the NFL, that’s a big deal. So that’s something we’ll look forward to. 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 in comparison to where things stood in March.
Based on the feedback you have received, how comfortable do you feel about the protection the quarterbacks will have?
Well, you go all summer, and that’s a lot more identification, working on your feet and all that kind of stuff. We’re fixing to put pads on here in the next four or five days, and I’ll have a whole lot better idea of where we’re at. I like the strides that we’re taking up front, but we’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we want to go with that group.
How important will it be for the quarterbacks to adjust as different offensive-line combinations rotate?
I think both guys will handle that, and it won’t be a problem. We’re going to work a bunch of different combinations up front and make sure we find the five guys that we need to go play to win football games. It’s like I tell every position: "You worry about doing your job, okay?" It’s our job as coaches to make sure we get the best guys on the field, and that’s what we’ll do.
How important was it to bring in Harrison Moore, who already knows your offense and your quarterback?
It was fortunate that it worked out for the Gators. Harrison Moore is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever had a chance to coach. The last two years, he played a lot for us as a freshman. I think he’s now getting comfortable in his own skin. When we first signed him, he was 265 pounds, so he’s still putting on weight. He’s much stronger than he was.
He’s starting to become a leader, a lot more vocal, and that’s very important for what we ask the center to do in this offense.
How similar is Harrison Moore to the player he is replacing, Jake Slaughter?
Very similar in outlook and the mental aspects of the game, from the things that I’ve been told. Very similar. Again, you ask a lot of guys around this building, and that’s a high compliment. Jake Slaughter was very well thought of amongst his teammates. Harrison’s only been here seven months, and he’s still working to gain that kind of respect. He’ll do that.
How do you ensure the ball gets distributed throughout a talented wide-receiver room?
Great question. There is only one ball. We’ve got a lot of really good receivers that had good springs, have had really good summers. Can’t wait to see Dallas (Wilson). Like Coach just got done saying, he’s a pleasure to be around. He wants to be out there. He’s highly competitive.
He needs some game reps, needs some practice reps. He hasn’t played a lot of football over the last couple of years. He’s been in and out of the lineup. So he still needs those reps to polish up timing, continue to work on his ball skills and the routes. We’re going to ask him to do a lot.
I think he’s got a chance to be a special player. I think the biggest thing is getting him back out there, getting in rhythm with the quarterbacks and getting comfortable playing in this offense.
What has impressed you about Wilson as a player and a leader, even as a young player?
He’s got a great presence, great mind for the game, extremely smart. But he puts in the work, especially in the film room. When you usually get the combination that he has of speed, loves the game, work ethic, you usually end up being a pretty good player.
We’re glad he’s on our team. I can assure you of that.
Is there a fine line between overusing and properly utilizing a player like Jadan Baugh?
Yeah, there’s always a fine line at really any position. With Jadan, the one thing about him, he is built to last. That’s what’s encouraging about moving forward. He’s got a lot of reps under his belt. He’s played in big-time football games.
We obviously have a really good plan for him. We want to make sure we utilize him in a bunch of different ways, probably more so than he has over the last couple of years. But he’ll be a big part of our offense.
Can you sense that Florida’s fan base wants to see a great offense again?
Yeah, shoot, I hope they do. 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. When you think of Florida football, I go all the way back to Coach Spurrier and all the things that he did when he was here.
I’ve always said this: "He was on the cutting edge of it." Then 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. I still think that violence and playing tough and playing physical and old-school football still wins.
But we do have the skill players to hopefully look like they did in the ’90s with Spurrier. I’d like to see a combination of both. But it’s all about winning and finding a way to score one more point than our opponent. That’s what we’re going to try to do.
How has your offense evolved from the Air Raid?
One thing I learned back from my high school coaches, Coach (Chuck Flowe) and Coach (Robert) Hill, is adapt to who you have. We did that in high school. Then I went to play in the Air Raid, and it was the Air Raid.
But Coach (Chris) Hatcher adapted to me. I’ve said this before: I probably threw more lateral passes than anybody in the history of college football because I couldn’t throw it down the field. So, yeah, just look at your roster, see what they can do and then adjust accordingly. That’s something we’ll do.
This offense will look a lot different than what I’ve been a part of the last few years at the last place I was at. Are there going to be some foundational things that look the same? Yes, there will be some of that. There’ll be a little bit more of maybe the ball in the air than there was a year ago.
But yeah, we’re going to adjust. When you look around our locker room, we mentioned it earlier, there’s only one football, and it needs to go to a bunch of different guys in a bunch of different ways. We’re going to try to do that.
Have you had a chance to pick Steve Spurrier’s or Bubba's (Spurrier Jr.) brain about their offensive philosophies?
Yeah, Coach Spurrier actually gave me — I think I was here two weeks — he sent me a couple old notepads and had a bunch of scribble on it. It was good. A lot of good plays. Like I said, he sent me that. I’ve had a chance to talk to him a couple of times. I’ve had a chance to talk to Coach Meyer a couple of times. 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. Take all that in and try to morph it into our own and kind of bring that back, hopefully.
Why do you think Florida’s former coaches remain so connected to the program?
Yeah, I think if you walk around here and walk into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, you see why they fell in love with this place. It’s an easy place to fall in love with. You’ve got great weather. You’ve got great people. You’ve got great players all around us. We’ve got all the resources we need to be successful.
I just feel like when Florida was rolling back then, it was a lot of fun. We want to bring the fun back offensively here at the university.
What was your assessment of the team’s perimeter blocking during spring camp, and how much will you emphasize it in fall camp?
Yeah, we’ll put a great emphasis on that. That’s something we’ll do every day from now until as long as I’m here. You’ve got to be able to block on the edge. You’ve got to be able to spit the ball out on the perimeter and different things like that.
We always talk about the offensive line being physical. We also preach to our wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, ‘You’re just as important,’ because there are a lot of balls that we’re going to throw out there. Your blocks are more important than the offensive line.
Physicality is something we’re going to hang our hat on. I think it’s very important. I think that’s how you win football games across the board.
How will you evaluate the quarterback competition, and what markers will you be looking for?
Yeah, it’s a competition. But I think a lot of times it gets to (Aaron) Philo over Tramell (Jones) and Tramell versus Philo. Look, that’s not it. We’re going to find the best quarterback for the University of Florida, and that guy’s going to go out there. That’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. They’ve both come a long way. I think you can win with both. One guy eventually will have to be the starter.
That’s not saying that whoever is the starter, that the other one’s not good. A lot of times, that gets lost in it. I’m really excited about the progress that both the kids have made.
Is there a deadline for making the quarterback decision, or will the evaluation continue into the season?
No, there’s no timeline. It’s always an evaluation. Just because you’re the starter, you’ve got to go play good, right? Coach Spurrier used to run them in and out, didn’t he? So, no, there’s no timeline. When we know, we’ll know. Obviously, somebody’s got to take the first snap here against FAU, and we’ll make that decision when it’s right.
What is unique about Tramell Jones Jr.?
What’s unique about Tramell is just the fact that he didn’t play much as a senior. He got hurt and then, obviously, only had a few snaps last year. What’s been unique is how well he’s picked this up because it’s not easy to pick up. It’s a lot.
He’s done a great job of really getting caught up to speed, and I like the way he carries himself. He’s a very, very confident kid, comfortable in his own skin. I think usually those guys are very successful in this game.
At what point did you realize you needed to emphasize running the football?
Yeah, when I was at Middle Tennessee working for Coach (Rick) Stockstill, we went into a year with a young quarterback, and we knew that for us to be successful, we were going to have to run the football.
That’s kind of where it morphed. It’s like, "Hey, you’ve got to be able to run it." Then I always go back to my high school days. We ran it way more than we threw it. I’ve been a part of that my whole life. How do you find ways to win? Get the right guys the football. That’s what’s important.
What is your assessment of Jaylen Jordan, and what are you looking for from him during camp?
I haven’t had a chance to see much. I’d be lying to you. He’s a big, tall, good-looking guy, and we’ll know more here in a couple of weeks.
What were your first impressions of Dallas Wilson during OTAs?
Well, the first time was in walkthroughs, and the guy’s going full speed. I’m like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to slow down.’ But I love his eagerness, his urgency. The guy really and truly wants to be out there all the time. The few clips that we were able to see, or the few practices we were able to see in the OTAs, he is infectious with his energy.
He plays as fast as he can on every snap. Some of the best football players that I’ve ever been around play as fast as they can on every single snap, and he has that ability.
How has Aaron Philo grown since arriving at Florida?
I think it’s always hard starting back over with your teammates and all the things that go with not just playing football. You’re in a different locker room. You’re around a bunch of new coaches. That was probably, for him, the biggest growth that I’ve seen. You’re now seeing him be like he was that I’ve seen the last couple of years, just on a day-to-day basis.
A lot more comfortable around the guys. He’s starting to be a lot more vocal. All the things that I knew. But when you come into a new environment, sometimes that can be hard. I think he’s finally comfortable in his own skin down here.
What were your takeaways from the running backs behind Jadan Baugh during the spring?
Yeah, Duke Clark has got a chance to be a really good player. We want him to put it together on a day-in and day-out basis. But he’s the one that always seems to flash when he’s got the ball in his hands. He’s extremely smart. He’s had a really, really good offseason.
Evan Pryor had flashes all spring long. He’s a veteran. He’s shown some leadership qualities in the group. Byron Louis is another one that’s been really good for us. Then, obviously, London (Montgomery).
But I feel really good about where all those guys are. I like that room. It’s going to bring a lot more depth than we probably thought we had coming in. We’re going to have to find ways to get some of those guys the ball, too.
How is your golf game?
I’m not very good, but I do like to play in the offseason. I’ve gotten better over the years.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida OC Buster Faulkner talks QB race and scheme before fall camp
