When Feleipe Franks flipped his commitment from LSU to Florida last November, the Gators landed one of the most important pieces of their 2016 class and a talented option at quarterback for the future.
However, as an early enrollee this spring, Franks flashed his potential but ultimately showed some growing pains and proved he needs more time to develop. At moments, Franks didn't look all too comfortable running Florida's offense as one of the backups to Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby - and the conversation of UF potentially redshirting him suddenly became a topic of discussion among the fanbase.
That was capitalized by Franks' spring game performance, where he went 5-of-11 passing for 58 yards and a touchdown against three interceptions playing for both the Orange and Blue squads during four drives in the contest.
However, Florida head coach Jim McElwain was still pleased with Franks' overall growth this spring as an early enrollee.
“The big thing is, No. 1, he really had a good spring as did Kyle Trask," McElwain said. "Both those guys came so far, and you can tell. They’re guys that can throw the football. They’re not afraid to fit it into some windows, and I think they’re gonna be able to do that. The big thing with Feleipe, that guy — he’s a great player, all right, and he just can’t let those things affect you. What happens sometimes is you let that piece — you've just got to learn from it."
Adversity was something Franks certainly faced during the first three drives of the Orange & Blue Debut following a handful of poor decisions. After defensive back Duke Dawson picked off an under-thrown ball by Franks to close the first half, Franks was intercepted by linebacker Kylan Johnson early in the third quarter when Franks forced a pass into a dangerous area while facing pressure on the edges on third down instead of taking a sack.
Then in the fourth quarter, Franks saw his pass intercepted once again by Dawson as the junior nickel returned it 30 yards for the pick-six.
But eventually in the spring game, the 6-foot-6, 216-pound Franks bounced back and put his tools on display. He went 4-of-7 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 16 yards on his final drive to close out the game, leading the Gators offense down the field. Often, he targeted tight end C'yontai Lewis, including on a 16-yard touchdown pass to conclude the contest.
"You can tell on the last drive, I thought he ran with his feet, didn’t throw the ball up, did a couple of things, checked the ball down," McElwain said. "Those are all things that tell me he’s learning how to play the position.”
This offseason, Franks has made a constant effort to polish his game and learn more pertaining to the Gators' offensive schemes. On Memorial Day Weekend, Franks was one of an array of college quarterbacks to participate at quarterback guru Steve Clarkson's QB Retreat in San Diego. During that weekend, Franks impressed many with his skill-set - especially his arm strength, which he showcased on a 78-yard throw that won the camp's deep ball competition.
"He's a guy with loads of potential," Clarkson said. "He's got an NFL body, NFL arm, but he's relatively young. He's got to get experience. Playing with Coach McElwain and Coach Nuss is going to afford him an opportunity at some point to be great. I think he has the skill-set and the ability to do that. He displayed that extremely well at the camp over the last two years.
"The biggest thing is he's a lot more agile than the first time around that I saw him. His delivery is a lot more smooth. He's extremely accurate, but the thing that's probably his biggest asset is he's a vicious competitor. He competes at everything and he's non-stop. If he's not slinging footballs, he's dribbling a basketball. He's very active. It was crazy, he was always on the go."
As Clarkson sees it, the keys for Franks this off-season are mastering the mental aspect of the game and learning a wider range of sophisticated passes. If he can accomplish those goals, Clarkson is confident that his pupil could have a successful debut season with the Gators.
"You can't teach a lot of the things that he possesses," Clarkson said. "Now, having the patience to put in the time to get himself better in the mental aspect of the game, learning a lot of the nuances that'll help him be successful. He couldn't have gone to a better place in terms of being developed and having that instilled in him. He obviously has a bright future with what he brings to the table. What happens after that, it's clearly up to him.
"I fully expect to have a more calm, more collected fall camp because he'll be that much more engrained in the system."
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