To the shock of no one, the marriage between John Franklin III and Auburn ended last week when the quarterback turned wide receiver transferred to Florida Atlantic, where he will continue to play wide receiver and do it 50 miles from home (Franklin graduated from South Plantation High School near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) for a coach, Lane Kiffin, who is happy to have him.

And make no mistake about it, Auburn did not want Franklin around once former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee left the Plains for the laid-back life in Storrs, Conn. When a television analyst calls a player on your current roster “a cancer”  they probably didn’t make that up out of thin air. It’s likely a coach from the staff told them. Of course if Jordan Rodgers did make it up it would further explain why his older brother doesn’t speak to him.

But I digress, Franklin was Lashlee’s guy. He recruited him from East Mississippi College and envisioned him as the guy who could bring the big play back to Auburn’s offense. When Lashlee looked in his quarterback room and saw one-time Heisman dark horse contender-turned-scapegoat Jeremy Johnson and Sean White, a fan favorite who lacks athleticism and arm strength, he figured he needed to shake things up with a playmaker.

Franklin was supposed to be that playmaker. Whatever he lacked as a passer he could make it up with his 4.4 speed and ability to make plays with his feet. As a runner Franklin wasn’t bad when he got the opportunities, he rushed for 430 yards and averaged 9.6 yards per carry but almost half of those yards came against Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Alabama A&M.

With Lashlee out of the picture, Auburn needed to move on from Franklin and vice versa.

When Franklin was moved to wide receiver, I believe it was done with good intentions on both sides. The Tigers wanted the speed and depth at wide receiver and Franklin wanted the best chance to see the field in his final year. But the reality is Auburn has a ton of young talent at the wide receiver position like Kyle Davis, Nate Craig-Myers and Eli Stove looking to compete for outside positions while redshirt junior Ryan Davis appears to have things locked down in the shot.

Former Baylor quarterback and junior college signee Jarrett Stidham is a triggerman that coach Gus Malzahn feels good about and one he believes can get the Tigers in the end zone, early and often. With Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson controlling the bulk of the duties in the backfield, the offense appears in good hands.

Unfortunately for Franklin that left him the odd man out.

I’m sure he could see a future where Malzahn gives the young receivers more reps and he finishes his college career holding a helmet on the sidelines. Some Auburn fans will say good riddance. Many had already decided their thoughts on Franklin from the six episodes in the first season of “Last Chance U.” He appeared to be a bit selfish at times and aloof from the rest of the team in the show, but it’s hard to truly know anyone with about 45 minutes of time devoted to them in a Netflix series.

One thing we can say about Franklin is that he took care of business academically and allowed himself the opportunity to transfer and play immediately at another program where he can have fun.

It was the best thing for Franklin and the best thing for Auburn.