When Dan Mullen took over at Florida he didn’t know what he had on the roster. He quickly found out that he didn’t have a running quarterback in the mold of Tim Tebow, Cam Newton or Dak Prescott. Still, Mullen needs mobility at the position so he asked Feleipe Franks and the rest of his quarterbacks to be willing runners.
Franks has shown he’s willing and Mullen is taking advantage of that.
I haven’t run the ball that much ever in my life,” Franks said Monday I find it kind of fun. If I see a hole I’m going to try to hit it and go get a touchdown.”
Franks is currently leading the Gators in rushes (32) and is fourth in yards (114). He’s averaging eight yards a carry and just scored the first rushing touchdown of his career last week at Tennessee. Franks’ most famous run came last season, scampering 79 yards against Texas A&M but that was impromptu. Now Franks is being asked to run and plays are designed for him to carry the ball with running backs and tight ends leading the way.
It’s added a new dimension to his game. Right now he’s only completing 52.6% of his pass attempts, 11th among qualifying SEC quarterbacks. His rushing, however, has been highlighted. Franks has more carries this season than Alabama running back Damien Harris.
“I think he made some great decisions and I think he missed some decisions, but you know I still think, I mean, I think he showed the toughness tonight that it shows the progress he’s making, and buying in and trying to do things right,” Mullen said of Franks Saturday night after beating Tennessee.
Franks is trusting the process and he’s managing the game now. That term, “game manager” is looked on as an insult. Mullen doesn’t take it that way and neither does Franks. The redshirt sophomore understood early on that a coaching change and a new offense would be difficult and new but he bought in early and it’s paying off now with a third of the season in the books. He’s also, as Mullen noted taking a leadership role. That started soon after the 2017 season ended when Franks would regularly dial up teammates to watch film or go run routes. It’s continuing into his press conferences where any question about a play he made elicits a response like this.
“The guys do a great job blocking for me and I try to hit the hole and go,” he said making sure to credit his offensive line. “I don’t know, I’m not really a big, I don’t know a lot about running and cutting and that kind of stuff, but I try to do my best at it.”
Florida is heading into its most difficult stretch of the season. A road game in Starkville will likely be the most hostile environment Florida plays in this season. LSU comes to Gainesville after that with a trip to Vanderbilt on tap after that. Georgia, who looks like a machine on a warpath to meet Alabama in Atlanta, awaits before games with South Carolina and Missouri.
“That kind of always seems to be how the league works,” Mullen said. “That’s your reward of the depth and the talent in this league.”
Florida will be going into the game with Franks playing as confidently as he has in his three years at Florida.
“You can’t ever get complacent, you have to want to be on top, you have to want to be the best. That’s what I want to be. I want to be the best to ever do it,” Franks said. “So just keep on working. I don’t want to be one of the top. I want to be the top.”