Franks kicks off Dan Mullen era in style
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Feleipe Franks had nine touchdowns in 11 games last season. On Saturday night, the signal caller already was halfway to beating that mark in just one game.
"It felt good," said the quarterback after the 56-6 win over Charleston Southern. "I thought our players did a good job in the game. To have a good game and get a victory is a good thing, it gets the confidence going for us."
Franks did not stutter in the win over the Buccaneers. The redshirt sophomore threw a screen to wide receiver Trevon Grimes on the opening drive for a 34 -yard touchdown - that first score led to another and then to another, as the signal caller collected five touchdowns in just the first half. The last Gator to accomplish this was Rex Grossman in 2000.
"We put up that many points tonight, so what's not to like about it?" Franks said. "We have a bunch of good players that played really good tonight. A bunch of guys got in, bunch of guys got to taste what it feels like actually being on the field. Our team can only go up from here. I said that in the summer, just going out, and we're just scratching the surface. Bunch of the players are excited about the upcoming season and SEC play next week."
Franks finished 16-of-24 passing for 216 yards and rushing for 34 yards in a half's work. The signal caller often was criticized for his decision making last season, however, on Saturday Florida head coach Dan Mullen was content with what we saw.
"There’ll be some things watching the film that he’ll saw that he missed, but I think he also made some plays," Mullen said. "I think in decision-making he made some plays, I think it was great for him. His communication was pretty solid during the game with us, coming off the field, understanding what happened, being able to talk through a previous series; there’s so much to that to a quarterback.
"But overall, I thought he played well," added the Gators head coach. "I thought he made some good decisions in the run game as well, was able to move the team and put the ball in the end zone."
One of the big changes for Franks is his ability to remain composed under pressure, especially while leading a more up tempo offense.
"I think coach is doing a great job at making practice faster so then when you get to the game, then it’s a lot slower," Franks said. "Coach is doing a good job of that and it’s helped me out a lot. I think it was a good amount slower than it was last year."
Franks shared the ball in the win, throwing the ball to six different receivers.
“I tried to spread the ball around so everybody got a little touch,” said Franks. “I think they both [Jefferson and Grimes] had tremendous days. I think we’re just scratching the surface. We have a long way to go where everyone can reach their full potential.”
According to Franks' teammates, his performance on Saturday night was not surprising.
"I think he’s more confident, more confident in the system, more comfortable," said wide receiver Van Jefferson, who had two touchdowns on the night "Just out there just having fun basically, just being Feleipe, being the funny guy that he is and I feel like it’s just showing. It’s just coming off him so I think he’s a lot more comfortable and confident now."
"He’s a tremendous leader. He’s very energetic, he’s a true leader and he wants the best out of everybody and he wants everybody to everyday bring competition, bring the hard work and he really wants to make sure everyone’s setting a great Gator standard," tight end Lucas Krull added. "He’s doing a great job he’s getting better every day just like everyone else and he’s been awesome."