Falcons pick up Razorback QB Feleipe Franks as free agent

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Despite a record-setting year for the Razorbacks in completion percentage, Feleipe Franks went undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons were quick to sign the 6-foot-6 quarterback in free agency after the final picks were made.

By going undrafted, Arkansas has still had only three quarterbacks selected in the last 41 drafts - Ryan Mallett (2011), Tyler Wilson (2013) and Brandon Allen (2016). In the 17 drafts between 1964-80, they had six quarterbacks selected - including four within the first 200 picks. (That doesn't include Matt Jones, who was drafted as a wide receiver, or Mike Cherry and Tarvaris Jackson, who played at Arkansas before transferring out and getting drafted.)

Franks signed with Florida as a 6.0 four-star recruit in the Class of 2016.

Despite being a multi-year starter for the Gators, a season-ending injury sidelined him three games into the 2019 season and made the emergence of Kyle Trask possible, leading to his decision to transfer.

In his lone season in Fayetteville, Franks broke a UA single-season record by completing 68.5 percent of his passes (163 of 238) in nine games - all against SEC opponents. That topped Kevin Scanlon’s mark of 66.2 percent set in 1979.

Those passes went for 2,107 yards and 17 touchdowns - both of which narrowly missed out on cracking the school’s single-season top-10 lists - while only four were intercepted.

On top of the statistics he compiled, Franks also helped the Razorbacks snap a 20-game SEC losing streak. He actually led them to three wins over the all-SEC slate, which was two more conference victories than Arkansas had the previous three seasons combined.