Dan Mullen reportedly suggested Feleipe Franks transfer to play for offensive guru in Pac-12
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Dan Mullen reportedly suggested an interesting team for departing Florida QB Feleipe Franks: Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars.
The news comes from Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review. Lawson writes, “According to a Spokesman-Review source, Florida coach Dan Mullen recommended that former Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks take a serious look at the Cougars and consider spending his final college season in Pullman in order to ‘get developed by Leach.’”
Lawson suggests Leach and company have some work to do if they want to make it happen:
[T]he source said the ex-Florida starter wasn’t familiar with Pullman or the Palouse. The Cougars seem to be aware of him, though, and Franks is followed on Twitter by outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr…
Since Franks announced he would not be returning to UF for his 2020 season, he has visited one familiar coach: Les Miles. In a recent social media post, Franks indicated he was traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, where Miles coaches the Kansas Jayhawks. Franks originally pledged to Miles at LSU before flipping his commitment to Jim McElwain and the Gators.
Lawson notes that grad transfers have had mixed results at WSU. Jacksonville Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew had a record-setting season in Leach’s offense in 2018 after transferring from East Carolina. This past season, former Eastern Washington QB Gage Gubrud was unable to win the WSU starting job and appeared in just two games as a backup. Gubrud suffered a lower-body injury during the Cougars’ spring workouts.
Franks had a rough redshirt freshmen season (125-of-229 for 1,438 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT) in 2017. His passing numbers drastically improved playing for Mullen in 2018 (188-of-322, 2,457 yards, 24 TD, 6 INT). In three games of the 2019 season, Franks was 54-of-71 for 698 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions before his season came to an end due to injury.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
