Buster Faulkner’s Vision For Jadan Baugh Starts Now
Picture this: Jadan Baugh with a catch for the first down, now first and goal at the 10-yard line. Jadan Baugh with another four yard completion. Jadan Baugh makes a catch, and, at this point, Jadan Baugh starts celebrating because he’s standing in the endzone.
That’s one of the visions that Florida football’s new offensive coordinator, Buster Faulkner, brings to the table. In fact, Faulkner made it clear to Florida’s star tailback, Baugh, that the vision starts now. Baugh is currently working one-on-one with Faulkner on passing plays out of the back field during spring camp. This change in offensive scheme could also mean a change in Florida’s record in 2026.
Faulkner left his position as Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator to take the same role at Florida, but his absence from Georgia Tech will not leave their offensive attack unscathed. After the 2022 season, before Faulkner started at Georgia Tech in 2023, the Yellow Jackets’ total offense ranked 12th in the ACC with 326.0 yards per game. By the time he left in 2025, they were ranked 11th nationally in total offense and second in the ACC with 460.0 yards per game.
Faulkner was also successful in generating individual offensive stars. Back in 2023, Georgia Tech’s leader in rushing yards was running back Jamal Haynes, who finished with 1,059 yards, but Haynes ended the season with 151 receiving yards, too. By the end of the 2025 season, its leader in rushing yards was quarterback Haynes King with 953. Yes, this left Haynes down at 531 rushing yards in 2025, but there is a method to Faulkner’s madness. By 2025, Haynes had 257 receiving yards. This difference, although seemingly small, presents how Haynes became a stronger receiving back, enhancing diversity in his skill set and making himself a more valuable offensive asset. Not only was Haynes reliable as a rusher — he could also contribute in Faulkner’s passing plays.
Going into 2026, Faulkner has turned his gaze to Baugh, and the work is well underway. Faulkner now spends significant individual time with the star, and he’s using it to shape his vision. “What that allows is me to be able to work some things that I see. Maybe using him down the road,” Faulkner said. “I think we can broaden his skill set, use him more in the passing game, and those are just in valuable reps that we can go and work on.”
Over Florida’s past four seasons, previous coach Billy Napier was never willing to relinquish his power as offensive coordinator. Repeatedly, he failed to tell the fans why he insisted on making his own playcalls, and Florida’s offense continued to underachieve while in his grasp. After Napier’s first season in 2022, the Gators were seventh in the SEC in total offense with 424.1 yards per game. When Napier was fired from Florida, he left behind a team ranked 13th in the SEC with 341.3 yards per game. For context: there are only 16 teams in the SEC.
Baugh has been at Florida the last two seasons, and was a victim of Napier’s offense in both of them. Even then, from 2024 to 2025, his rushing and receiving totals both grew exponentially, displaying Baugh’s potential. The catch is, time and time again Napier failed to actually better his team, and he would regularly pull Baugh off the field in favor of Ja’Kobi Jackson or even third-string back KD Daniels. Baugh’s average yards per rush attempt stayed almost exactly the same from 2024 to 2025, at 5.1 yards and 5.3 yards. Unsurprisingly, his average yards per receiving attempt fell from 8.3 in 2024 to 6.4 in 2025, as Florida’s passing game and DJ Lagway struggled.
An entirely new coaching staff has arrived in Gainesville, and that means an entirely new playbook is at the hand of Faulkner. Like Napier, Faulkner sees Baugh’s potential. Unlike Napier, it appears that more passing plays are in the running back’s future, and a focus on the team’s stars may be, as well. As spring camp continues, Faulkner will try to implement his strategy of diversifying the skill sets of his team, and maybe Baugh will score some touchdowns while he’s at it.
Category: Football, Gators Football
