John Franklin III’s college football career hasn’t gone exactly as he planned.
After joining Florida State as a highly-touted recruit, he decided to transfer to East Mississippi Community College with the hopes of earning more playing time and eventually returning to the Division I level.
During his time at EMCC, Franklin starred on Netflix’s “Last Chance U.”
Unfortunately for Franklin, he was beaten out for the starting job at EMCC by Wyatt Roberts. Franklin eventually used his athleticism to earn an offer from Auburn where he joined the Tigers with hopes of becoming the started. However, once again, he found himself on the sideline.
Now, in yet another effort to see increased playing time, Franklin has made the switch to wide receiver for Gus Malzahn’s squad and he appears to be very excited about the newfound opportunity to get the ball in his hands and make plays.
[protected-iframe id=”429c8109eb3d776a92866fb3ca7cf268-112307288-6515840″ info=”http://www.espn.com/core/video/iframe?id=20306996&endcard=false” width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]
“As always, whatever is best for the team, that’s what I was down for,” Franklin said, via ESPN. “Coach Malzahn, Coach Lindsey all sat down and he was like, we want to find a way to get you the ball in multiple ways. There’s one quarterback on the field but you have more receivers, and my whole thing is … as long as I’m getting the ball, that’s all that matters because I mean I think I’ve proven that when I have it, good things gonna come up from it.
“I’ve been working on little things to make me better each and every day. Coach Burns been helping me a lot, Coach Malzahn been helping me a lot. I feel like I’ve advanced a lot from the spring, and you know, there’s always room for improvement and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing this camp.”
It’s going to be interesting to see how Franklin ultimately makes the transition.
His head is in the right place and he will have a chip on his shoulder as he attempts to prove he belongs on the field, so we will have to sit back and see whether he can finally live up to the hype at the highest level.
If his offseason work is any indication, Auburn fans should be excited.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWoEQXwAt6H/?hl=en&taken-by=jf3_5
Auburn opens its 2017 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Georgia Southern.
Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!
Photo Credit: Instagram
