![New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_186,w_2593,h_1458/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kg7jev3yfamq9fnz2c.jpg "New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
While most people were hesitant to accept Jon Sumrall was first announced at Florida, the coaching staff he assembled on offense assembled help aliviate the fears fans had. Front and center for his staff was Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who jumped ship to Florida despite the Yellowjackets morphing into one of the better programs in the country.
This week, Faulkner highlighted what inspired him to leave Atlanta and make his way down to Gainesville.
Buster Faulkner details move from Georgia Tech to Florida
Appearing on Gator Tales with Sean Kelley, Faulkner went into an array of topics, but one of the first questions to pop up was why exactly he left Georgia Tech? Faulkner was just named Offensive Coordinator of the Year, and Georgia Tech was in the hunt for the playoffs this year before a late-season slide.
Faulkner was appreciative of his time in Atlanta, but his answer was somewhat revealing:
“I was very fortunate to work alongside Brent Key for the last three years and very grateful for that opportunity. But I wanted to be somewhere and work with someone who was defensive-minded.
That was an attraction for me. (Jon Sumrall) is a proven winner. What he did at Troy in a short amount of time, then went over to Tulane and continued the winning, is something I'm attracted to. I want to be a part of a winning program.
I want to have a chance to play for national championships. That's what you coach for.
And I think Florida is a place that has done it and is thirsty to do it again, and that's why I wanted to be here.”
If we are to read between the lines, Faulkner felt there was a ceiling at Georgia Tech, and what has happened over the past three years is as good as it is going to get in Atlanta. His comment about Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key, who was getting looks from Florida during the head coaching search, was interesting, too.
Key himself is an offensive guy, so it almost sounds like Faulkner was looking for a spot where he would have full control of the offense.
Faulkner later highlighted the speed on Florida’s roster and how he might have some tricks up his sleeve to unlock that speed.
The first glimpse of Faulkner’s new offense will be at the spring game on April 11.