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FAYETTEVILLE — In an age of opt outs, Feleipe Franks stuck with his team until the bitter end.
Despite having NFL aspirations, despite battling a rib injury that forced him to miss Arkansas’ last game and despite being hit numerous times during a blowout in frigid temperatures, the senior quarterback was still taking snaps as time expired in the Razorbacks’ 52-3 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday.
Although he came out twice because he wasn’t fully healthy, Franks started the game and played the entire fourth quarter, when Arkansas was already down 41 points.
That toughness didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates, as running back Trelon Smith described him as a “true leader.”
“Feleipe came in with injury problems, (started) playing, stepped out for a little bit but then he jumped right back in knowing that he had to keep pushing, keep going for this team, and also for himself,” Smith said. “He's a real strong person mentally, physically, and he just wanted to finish.”
When he managed to get a throw off, Franks was an efficient 8-of-10 passing for 90 yards, but he spent spent much of the game on the grass at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Alabama’s pass rush - which came into the game averaging just 2.1 sacks per game - put him on the ground in the backfield seven times. It was part of an eight-sack performance, with backup KJ Jefferson being the recipient of the other sack.
Franks has been criticized - fairly - throughout the year for holding on to the ball too long, but there were times Saturday when the Crimson Tide swarmed him.
“It looked pretty overwhelming to me,” head coach Sam Pittman said. “We were having trouble with the line games - they were running back behind the center. We were having trouble picking them up. I've had trouble picking them up when I was at Georgia with arguably the best line in college football.”
The second of those sacks came on second-and-goal during the Razorbacks’ second possession of the game. Franks followed it up with an incomplete pass and Arkansas had to settle for a 26-yard field goal that tied the game at 3-3 midway through the first quarter.
On the next drive, though, Jefferson went in the game. Asked afterward if it was by design, Pittman said Franks was a little shaken up, so they made the switch to “let him catch his bearings a little bit.”
The Razorbacks went three-and-out with Jefferson at quarterback and DeVonta Smith returned the ensuing punt 84 yards for a touchdown to open the floodgates.
Franks went back in, but was sacked twice during a three-and-out and then fumbled on yet another sack on the next possession, setting the Crimson Tide up at the 5-yard line for an easy score that pushed their lead to 24-3.
That led to Arkansas going with Jefferson for good, as Pittman said they weren’t sure how healthy he was. The staff thought the redshirt freshman’s mobility might help with the protection issues up front.
However, he suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter and couldn’t return. Even though the Razorbacks were down 45-3, Pittman said they never really considered putting in true freshman Malik Hornsby.
The only way he would go in the game was if Franks couldn’t go, but he told Pittman he could “certainly” finish off the blowout. According to wide receiver Mike Woods, it showed just how great of a role model he is to the young players on the team.
“He's a leader of this football team and he carries himself as such,” Woods said. “He's a warrior. He goes through a lot and he stands strong through it all.”
With a bowl game pending, Franks has completed 68.5 percent of his passes this season. That is on track to shatter Kevin Scanlon’s school-record 66.2 percent set in 1979.