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When he entered the transfer portal last year, Feleipe Franks likely thought he’d never play in The Swamp again.
The Florida native ended up at Arkansas and the Gators were added to the schedule when everything was adjusted because of the coronavirus pandemic, though, and he got a homecoming of sorts Saturday night.
Even though the Razorbacks were blown out 63-35 by No. 6 Florida, Franks described the opportunity to face his former team as “awesome” and “sentimental” in a postgame interview.
“I’ve been with those guys for four years and to actually play and they can hit me and all that, it’s fun,” Franks said. “You love the game and that’s what you play it for, the relationships you build along the way. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to get out there and play against them and see them again.”
It wasn’t enough to hang with the Gators’ high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy-contender Kyle Trask, but Franks had a solid night for Arkansas. He completed 15 of 19 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, plus added 28 yards on three non-sack carries.
The performance was highlighted by 47- and 82-yard touchdown passes to Mike Woods. The first one came on the Razorbacks’ opening possession and actually tied the score at 7-7, while the second came in the fourth quarter when they were already down by 35.
It was tied for the 10th-longest touchdown pass in UA history and also marked the second straight week Franks has found Woods on a deep ball, as he also had a 56-yard reception to set up the go-ahead score against Tennessee. (Franks had a 59-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks last week, as well.)
“I don't know enough about critiquing quarterback play, but he has gotten so much better,” defensive coordinator and interim coach Barry Odom said. “The deep ball is something that he's worked so hard on and we've got receivers with speed. He's able to place it there.”
Franks downplayed the storyline of playing his former team during the week leading up to the game.
The quarterback repeatedly told the media that he was preparing the same as he would any other week and that didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“Feleipe handles his business at a really high level,” linebacker Grant Morgan said. “You wouldn't know that he was from Florida aside from everyone telling him, ‘Hey man, we're going to go play Florida.' He handles his business just like he does every single week.”
Head coach Sam Pittman, who didn’t travel with the team after testing positive for COVID-19, said earlier in the week that it was understandable that Franks would have a little more pressure than normal.
However, it doesn’t seem like the pressure affected the way he played against the Gators. Odom was particularly impressed with that following the game.
“The plays he made out on the field, take that away and just think about him stepping into this environment,” Odom said. “For a 21-, 22-year-old kid, the history that he had here and then he ended up at Arkansas really not knowing we were going to play Florida during that time so he didn't have to really worry about it.
“But when the schedule comes out, now you're faced with everybody you grew up with, so to speak, in the locker room. That takes some tremendous mental toughness and I'm so proud of the way he handled it and proud of the way he competed.”
When the clock finally expired, Franks was greeted by several of his former teammates, but two of his conversations lasted longer than the others - with Trask and Florida coach Dan Mullen.
He praised Mullen for being a “wonderful” coach and seemed genuinely happy to see Trask - who signed with Florida the same year as he did - having as much success as he has this season.
“Them giving me words of encouragement, it's awesome to have that and makes me feel good,” Franks said. “That relationship is life-long. It's not something that's there just 2-3 years, man. You create those bonds and it's life-long.”
While Trask has asserted himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, Franks has also benefitted from his decision to transfer. Through seven games with the Razorbacks, he’s completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 239.7 yards per game and he has 16 touchdowns with only three interceptions.
His 1,678 passing yards already rank 19th and 20th on the UA single-season and career charts, respectively, and that’s without the benefit of non-conference games to pad his stats.
“He's one of a kind,” Morgan said. “He leads really well, plays with a lot of heart, plays with a lot of passion. So I hate it that we couldn't get it done for him tonight, but we have three more games to be able to focus on so we can go out on top."
Arkansas returns to Fayetteville next week and will host LSU at 11 a.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN or the SEC Network.
