Feleipe Franks bringing strong leadership, 'swag' into game one
When Feleipe Franks steps onto the field in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday afternoon, he'll be the 10th starter for the Hogs over 26 games. It'll also be just over a year since Franks' career at Florida was brought to an end with a brutal ankle injury.
Heading into Saturday's matchup against No.4 ranked Georgia, Franks is ready and anxious–but not nervous.
"Competitors are usually built for the moment and when their name is called it’s time for them to go out there and perform," Franks said to Arkansas media on Tuesday. "It’s not time to think about anything else except executing what you’re asked to do. So I’m anxious, I can say that. Because it’s been a while since I’ve been out on the field against live competition. But at the same time I’m ready and I’m confident in not only me, but everybody on our team: defense, offense, special teams. All phases of the game. I’m ready to get out there and play again."
When Sam Pittman was hired, it was critical for him to bring in an experienced veteran quarterback. Not only has he found that in Franks, he's also found a team leader. The Florida native was named as one of four team captains by his peers last week and Pittman has already noticed a boost in his demeanor.
"I feel like him becoming a captain, in his mind, has allowed him to become more vocal, more comfortable, more comfortable with talking," Pittman said. "I think it's made him a swaggier player, if that makes sense. I think it's built his confidence up.
"You would think he would come from Florida and the success he's had and he'd walk in here with a huge swagger about him, but that's not the case. He's a very humble person, very quiet young man, but I think this has helped his leadership, and it certainly has shown this week."
Franks accomplished a lot at Florida, taking the Gators to a New Year Six bowl in 2018 and finishing with a 10-3 record. He'll need to rack up some more great performances if he wants to achieve his ultimate goal of getting drafted in 2020 and winning over his teammates was step one.
"Feleipe is one of those guys that leads with passion," defensive captain Grant Morgan said. "He might not always be the guy to speak up at certain times, but I know when he speaks up, there’s passion in everything he says. He means what he says."
Arkansas had two veteran graduate transfer quarterbacks in 2019 but neither were permanent starters or captains. The way Franks has ingratiated himself to his teammates has been a notable difference.
"I see him a lot going and meeting with his receivers 1-on-1. If it was on him or if it was on a receiver, he's always 1-on-1 going to help them and going to talk to them, trying to get on a certain page of understanding what happened," Morgan said. "I see him leading by the pat on the head with the linemen, like, 'Hey, we've got be right here,' or, 'Oh, that's my bad.'
"He's the leader that will take the responsibility when it's his, but he's not afraid to be able to jump somebody and say, 'Listen, this has to be this way.' I think that he's done a really good job with gaining everyone's respect that way, because if you jump down everyone's throat all the time, they're not going to be able to respect you."
Franks' partner in crime on the offense, Rakeem Boyd, wholeheartedly agreed with Morgan's take.
"Feleipe is just an outgoing guy," Boyd said. "He’s a guy that if you mess up he’s going to tell you that you messed up. He’s not afraid to to come to you. He’s that dude that’s going to put that person in their place. He’s a smart guy. He knows football very well. He leads the team. He knows how to do it."
Whether good leadership translates into more wins in 2020 is yet to be determined but Franks is ready for the challenge to start Saturday.
"Georgia has good players. They have a good scheme and that’s why it’s successful year in and year out," Franks said. "At the same time, Coach Briles has us and we have a good scheme as well. So I’ll be excited to go out there and watch what we can all do and execute our game plan in the game."
Kickoff against the Bulldogs is set for 3.p.m. on the SEC Network.