Florida football, Jon Sumrall to hire Buster Faulkner as new OC | Report

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Florida football is set to hire Georgia Tech's Buster Faulkner as its new offensive coordinator, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Under Faulkner, Georgia Tech's offense ranks 12th nationally and second in the ACC this season, averaging 466.3 yards per game.

The 44-year-old Faulkner was promoted to offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 2023 and has been responsible for the development of Yellow Jackets’ quarterback Haynes King. A Texas A&M transfer, King has passed for 2,597 yards with 12 TDs to 5 interceptions this season after throwing for 2,114 yards and 14 TDs in 2024.

Faulkner's offense includes spread concepts, which opens lanes for the quarterback to run, as King has rushed for 922 and 15 TDs as well. That could help unharness the dual-threat ability of Florida Gators starting quarterback DJ Lagway, if Lagway returns to UF. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Lagway was a dual-threat quarterback out of Willis High School in Willis, Texas, but in part due to nagging leg issues, has rushed for just 1 TD in his first two seasons at UF.

A former standout quarterback at Valdosta State, Faulkner's coaching experience includes stints as an offensive coordinator at Valdosta State (2008), Murray State (2010), Middle Tennessee State (2011-15), Arkansas State (2016) and Southern Miss (2019). He worked for two seasons as a quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control coach under Kirby Smart at Georgia from 2020-22 before joining Georgia Tech's staff in 2023.

Faulkner is the second major coaching hire new Florida coach Jon Sumrall has made this week, joining Kentucky's Brad White, who was officially announced at UF's defensive coordinator on Dec. 4.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football to hire Georgia Tech's Buster Faulkner as its new OC

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos