There are times we here at Hail Florida Hail keep beating a dead horse, but among the reasons why the Billy Napier Era is going to go down as one of the worst in the history of the Gators is that he brought to Gainesville a rigid process that refused to adapt. Napier had one way of playing offense, and it didn’t matter whether or not Florida’s roster makeup made sense for that offense. Most notable was Napier’s insistence on running two-tight end sets, despite not having the SEC-quality tight ends needed to effectively run those sets, while his cache of speedy wide receivers stood on the sideline.
Jon Sumrall is hoping not be Billy Napier. Step one in accomplishing that was hiring Buster Faulkner to be the offensive coordinator for 2026.
Step two is noting that he and Faulkner are willing to adapt to Florida’s roster.
Florida plans to adapt its offense to its roster
Appearing on The Drive with TKRAS on 95.3 WDAE in Tampa, Sumrall was asked about Faulkner’s philosophy and what he brings to Gainesville.
Sumrall painted a picture that the offense Faulkner ran at Georgia Tech might not be the offense we see at Florida:
“I've known Buster a long time. You know, Buster really comes background-wise, schematically sort of out of the Mike Leach air raid type tree originally. That's what he grew up in, and then he went to become the quarterback coach at Georgia for a little while when Todd Munkin was the offensive coordinator and really sort of evolved a little bit more, maybe pro-style in nature to some degree.
And then goes to Georgia Tech, and they have Haynes King as the quarterback and more of a runner, and so he had to evolve again to adapt. And so for me, what I really love about Buster is that when you talk to him about how you play offense, he always says, ‘Well, who are our players, and let's make the offense fit the players.’
I think too often we have our systems that we may like as a coach, but how do we fit our system to fit the players? Like, let's make that, this is a player-driven game. And nobody comes to the game to watch me coach. They all come to watch our players play.
And so how do we put our players in situations that really heighten their strengths and offset their weaknesses so we can put together a good product on the field? I think that's what Buster has done.”
Florida’s offense in 2026
As much as we mused about Napier’s insistence to run heavier packages, the makeup of Florida’s roster in 2026 might force the Gators to have more of a bully ball style. Keeping Jadan Baugh was the No. 1 priority for Sumrall, and one would think Baugh is going to be a focal point for this offense.
But the Gators have also added Evan Pryor and London Montgomery, two other highly capable running backs in their own right.
Florida does have Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III coming back, but as of now, there isn’t a deep cache of wide receivers waiting behind them. Though if Florida lands Eric Singleton Jr. out of the transfer portal it would have one of the most dangerous wide receiver trios in the country.
The Gators did get Amir Jackson to return at tight end, who could be a capable pass catcher if he has a breakout year, but the rest of Florida’s tight ends are more of the blocking type.
The wildcard for Florida will be the offensive line as the Gators will be breaking in an almost entirely new unit.