Florida football: The top 5 Feleipe Franks moments as a Gator
Saturday night at The Swamp should be a lot of fun.
The Gators returning home to play in front of their adoring fans after vanquishing archrival Georgia in the Cocktail Party.
The Razorbacks, one of the best stories in college football, visiting Gainesville with a team that matches up well with Florida, strength on weakness.
Oh, and you may have heard about the quarterback battle. Kyle Trask, the bona fide Heisman candidate, coming off a performance for the ages in the Cocktail Party, on the Gators’ sideline. Feleipe Franks, the former Florida starter, the guy who beat out Trask in multiple quarterback competitions under multiple coaching staffs, on the Razorbacks’ sideline.
Trask has deserved every inch of print and praise that has come his way in 2020.
Another guy who has deserved praise in 2020? Feleipe Franks.
The senior is a huge reason Arkansas has defied expectations and the toughest schedule in college football to start 3-3. Franks has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,428 yards and 14 touchdowns, adding 174 yards as a willing runner behind a rebuilt Arkansas offensive line. Franks has been at his best in big moments, whether it was his 3-touchdown 2nd half to lead Arkansas to a win over Tennessee last week, or his massive 318-yard, 4-touchdown performance against a very good Auburn defense that should have resulted in a win but for SEC officials not understanding the rules of football.
If Sam Pittman is ushering in a Razorbacks revival, it’s hard to suggest Franks isn’t an integral building block. Given that and the trajectory of his career, Franks is building a legacy as a program-builder, both at Arkansas and at Florida, where he will return for one final Saturday at The Swamp this weekend.
As much as Trask’s legacy will be attached at the hip to Dan Mullen’s restoration of Florida’s program to national prominence, the truth is Franks deserves a fair share of credit as well.
After all, it was Franks who helped Mullen take a program with a toxic culture coming off a 4-win season to a 10-win New Year’s 6 Bowl win in Year 1. Franks kept the starting gig at Florida until an injury took it away from him, and then he stuck around the program last year to be a tremendous teammate as Trask shined in his absence, leading the Gators to 11 wins and the Orange Bowl.
No one faulted Franks when he elected to transfer to Arkansas in the offseason. It was a chance to let Trask be Trask and let Feleipe be Feleipe, and until COVID-19 hit, there was no real chance their paths would cross. Now they do, 2 program-building quarterbacks poised to leave big legacies at SEC institutions.
For now, it’s fun to look back at Franks’ career at Florida and some of the moments that he left behind before leaving for good.
Here are Franks’ top 5 moments as a Gator ahead of his return to The Swamp.
5. Franks and the Gators take back The Swamp, best Joe Burrow (2018)
SDS’s Connor O’Gara took the game in from press row and remembered the building shaking to the rafters late, when Brad Stewart’s pick-6 of Joe Burrow sealed LSU’s fate and gave Florida their first win over a top-5 team since 2015. O’Gara wrote afterwards that Mullen had “taken back The Swamp” with that win, and while Florida wouldn’t begin their current 10-game home winning streak until later that season, it’s hard to argue that wasn’t where it all began for Mullen.
Franks was steady in that game, accounting for 203 yards of offense and a touchdown and making just enough big throws to keep the LSU defense off-balance. Franks’ signature moment in the game, believe it or not, was probably this catch on a trick play that helped set up what proved to be the winning score.
Florida Gators Feleipe Franks trick play catch vs LSU 10/6/18 pic.twitter.com/152wzlHqs7
— Andrew Arrington (@aa18in2009) October 6, 2018
4. Franks ‘shushes’ the crowd — South Carolina comeback (2018)
Franks nearly lost his starting job to Trask in 2018 after a miserable performance in a home loss to Missouri caused Mullen to open up the quarterback competition again late in the season. The competition was short-lived, as Trask injured his foot and was lost for the season. Given a reprieve, Franks played the best game of his career against Will Muschamp and South Carolina. It just took 3 quarters for him to get going.
“Franks Shushes Home Crowd”
– ESPN, 2018 pic.twitter.com/Og8dwTk7Up
— Houston Kress (@VolRumorMill) November 11, 2018
With Florida trailing 31-14 late in the 3rd quarter, Franks took over. The junior led the Gators on 3 consecutive scoring drives to take the lead, and when he plunged into the end zone to give Florida a 35-31 edge late, he shushed a Gators crowd that had booed him earlier that month.
Some Gators thought it was bad form. But Franks’ teammates loved it. Trevon Grimes, in particular, praised Franks’ decision. “It shows his passion for winning and for his program,” Grimes said after the win. “He suffered so much criticism. He’s human and he made mistakes and he still has to go play in front of 80,000 demanding fans. He’s prideful. I loved the celebration because that’s my quarterback.”
Florida loved the win even more.
3. Florida snaps the FSU losing streak (2018)
It seems like a distant memory to Gators fans now, but the truth is that Florida spent most the 2010s playing whipping boy to in-state rival Florida State. The Seminoles won 5 consecutive contests against the Gators from 2013-17, the longest run of ‘Noles wins in the history of the rivalry.
All that changed in 2018, largely thanks to the right arm of Franks.
The ‘Noles entered the game with a top-10 defense nationally, but Franks had his way all afternoon, torching FSU for 254 yards passing, 46 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, including this laser to the aforementioned Grimes.
.@18franks delivers a money touchdown to Trevon Grimes and sends a message to Noles' fans!
Florida dominates FSU 41-14. @SpecSports360 pic.twitter.com/AMElEuRLGY
— Luke Hetrick (@LHSportsTV) November 25, 2018
The Gators routed FSU 41-14 in Tallahassee, securing a New Year’s 6 bowl berth in the process.
2. Peach Bowl MVP (2018)
A common refrain among Gators fans and national writers alike is, What it was about Franks that kept him ahead of Trask for so many years? (You know, aside from the prototypical NFL size and rocket arm.)
The best example of how and why likely came in the 2018 Peach Bowl in Atlanta, where Franks secured MVP honors in routing a very good Michigan team 41-15.
Franks did it all that afternoon, throwing for 173 yards and a touchdown and taking what a top-5 Michigan defense gave him in the passing game while adding 74 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He also showed his growth as a thinker, checking to this quarterback draw to give the Gators the lead in the 1st half:
5️⃣ vs. 5️⃣ in the box made this one easy for Feleipe Franks
(via @SECNetwork) pic.twitter.com/uOVMqLXoBK
— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) December 29, 2018
It was the type of play Franks simply would not have made as a freshman, but one that became possible as he matured and improved under Mullen. As Franks grew, so did the Gators program.
1. The ‘Heave to Cleve’ to beat Tennessee (2017)
At the time, I dubbed the pass “the Heave to Cleve”, wondering if it would change the trajectory of a season that started so poorly in Arlington against Michigan.
It didn’t, but it is still the most memorable moment of Franks’ tenure at Florida.
It should be noted that this football travels almost 70 yards in the air on a rope. Absurd.
GATORS WIN ON A HAIL MARY!!!!!!!!
Franks to Cleveland for the TD
Gators 26
Vols 20#SEC pic.twitter.com/Y5LQHcI3I3— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) September 16, 2017
For Gators fans, as bad as 2017 was, they still beat Tennessee, thanks to Feleipe’s big right arm.
#1 – Franks transfers to Ark.
Lol, good one, Wildhogzzz. These were some amazing moments for Feleipe and UF. Many thanks to him.
It certainly worked out great for you guys. Smart move by Pittman to get a SEC senior transfer at QB for his first year. Should be a great game this weekend!
Honestly, no matter how much us fans harassed Feleipe during his tenure, those days hold some fond memories. Although he was a mediocre QB at UF, 2017 & 2018 UF Football brings some amazing memories thanks to #13.
The “heave to Clevelan”, was best.
I love Feleipe and I’m thrilled for him and the success he is having at Arkansas.
I hope he is forever welcomes back to the swamp as a Gator much like Jalen Hurts and Alabama. No bad feelings at all here.
I hope he gets a warm welcome Saturday, is on the losing end, and has a great finish to the season and professional career.
I hope you’re right on 3/4 of those wishes. LOL
Luckily they didn’t call a facemask penalty on Powell.
Hope for nothing but the best for him, save for this Saturday.
The Heave to Cleve still amazes me. Most quarterbacks can’t throw the ball 70 yards, much less complete a pass that travels that far through the air for a completion to a defended receiver in an actual game.
I honestly think that the gators will win this Saturday, and hope that Trask gets his revenge on Franks.
But I hope that the Razorbacks have a good game too.
Because after all, Franks was once the gators’s QB.
Revenge? Franks is the one that lost his job.
By all accounts, Trask and Franks have always been good friends.
Nice feel good article and I wish Franks well (except for this Saturday) but in reality it was Mullen who helped Franks not he other way. Mullen was able to take the disaster and bad QB Franks was in 2017 and turn him completely around to have a very good season in 2018 with good coaching and player development. And yet, Franks continued to be inconsistent until the day he got injured and never looked as smooth and confident as Trask has been the past 2 seasons.
And one more thing, besides the rocket arm and prototypical size, the thing that kept Franks ahead of Trask was his leadership. He was never shy, was very vocal and his team mates loved it
@TheRealcojones Yeah, what he/she said.
Are you sure about that? Cause it seems more like Franks has just improved every year. I could be wrong, but the numbers say otherwise. If Mullen was the reason for Franks success, wouldn’t Franks be worse at Arkansas instead of better? Have you watched Franks at all this season? Having a top QB on your team isn’t always a reflection of player development. Trask was going to be good no matter what. He was extremely underrated coming out of high school due to the fact that high school coaches will start athleticism over accuracy any day. Florida was playing the waiting game with Trask. They knew what he was. They just didn’t want to take a chance and put him in too early and end up with something like Franks’ first season (trial by fire). He still would have eventually upended Franks for the starting job if Franks never got injured. Franks has been grinding. Anybody who thinks his success can be attributed to Mullen is vastly mistaken.
That throw to Cleveland was amazing. We went nuts in the stadium on that one.
Very happy to see Franks having such a great season. I wish him all the success in the world…except this weekend.
The UGA trolls would have had a field day with this article back before TWLOCP. It’s nice to not see them around anymore. Maybe they’ll be back around signing day?
Yeah. Silence is golden.
I always said even after the QB whisperer got to UF it was “Meet the new Franks, same as the old Franks”. Didn’t get coached up at all. Now it seems he is getting some coaching. He’s a good kid. He has the athletic talent for the NFL. Wish him the best.
How’s you’re QB coach looking ?
Serious question: Does Georgia have a quarterback coach?
It’s one thing to be a biased fan and homer for your team. It’s another to make statements that are just demonstrably false. Mullen turned Franks into a good college quarterback. And his 2020 CMP ratio is down a couple points from his last seven games at Florida, so you can’t objectively say he’s been better at Arkansas.
Yes, because Everyone knows Arkansas receivers are so much more skilled than the pathetic recruits Mullet has managed at UF.
Nash here’s your duh huh moment to pounce
Hmm. Franks transfers to a school with less talent. He has the best season of his college career. But you can’t say he’s better at Arkansas? Seems legit. Someone hasn’t watched him play this season. His only bad game this year was a game where his Oline was manhandled on every play. Can you say that Franks only had one bad game each season at Florida? If so, then that would make Franks the same QB he was at Florida at the very least.
LegHumperU I wouldn’t necessarily say that. Treylon Burks is probably one of the most gifted in the country. I would go as far to say that he’s better than Pitts. At 6-3, 235 running a 4.3 40 on top of making insane catches, he’s a mismatch on every single play. There might not be as much depth as Florida, but there is definitely talent at WR. The problem for Arky is their Oline needs to catch up. Teams can bring 3 or 4 and get to Franks or stop the run. Which helps the coverage out tremendously. Even then, every team still has had a problem with Treylon Burks. 5 catches for 95 yds and a TD is his worst game. Unless you count the game where he got injured in the first quarter vs. State.
It waa was said tongue in cheek hawgZack. UF under Mullet is tge ONLY place QBs are developed don’t ya know. Why, I bet Mac Jones is slipping down to Gainesville during his off time to get mentored by Lord QB Whisperer himself, don’t cha know! Just ask Nash
Georgia…a QB coach ? They seem to have failed to fill that vacancy in recent years.
Feleipe has played well at Arkansas and has a 67.2% CMP ratio so far this season. I’ve been rooting for him all year, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to win 10 games, including a NY6 bowl, this season.
I was responding to the “Didn’t get coached up at all” [by Mullen] comment, which is ludicrous.
FF has actually taken a step forward every year with Mullen and a small step back from 2019 to 2020 in QBR, completion percentage, yards per attempt but an improvement in TD to int ratio. 2019 is a small sample size as he got injured but Miami and Kentucky were actually two of the better defenses in the league 2019. Dunno that his schedule of Ole Miss, UT, Miss St etc really screams defense. Also worth noting that Arkansas composite talent score this year is actually very similar to UF’s when Mullen took over. My point is, it’s actually not evident that Franks is doing better at Ark than he was doing when he left UF. I am however, glad to see him starting and doing well.
It’s obvious gator nation is nervous purvis… the +17 is free money. Look for the hawgs to win outright.
Hey there fantasy, how’s that repeat national championship looking?
For being a fantasy football god, you’re not very good at making predictions, are you?
Florida is 3-2 ATS while Arkansas is 6-0. At 17 points, this is probably the most tempting line in the nation. Especially if you look at all the matchups. Florida will probably need to steer clear of Arkansas’ safety. For Florida to cover, they will have to do the opposite of what they’ve done all year. Don’t go for big plays. If they do that, look for Florida to cover. Going for big plays has only worked once against Arkansas. When their safety was ejected in the second drive vs. A&M. Arkys D is is held together by that dude. If they steer clear of him they should be fine.
Arky will play a zone and try to keep everything in front of them against Florida. But Florida can still challenge deep with 50-50 balls. Even if Pitts doesn’t play, Shorter and Grimes are both physical monsters. And heaven help them if they let Toney run free in front of the safeties. That’s a recipe for more ESPN highlights.
Let them keep everything in front of them. Trask and Florida’s offense is too good. Let Trask throw 50 dink and dunks and he’ll end up with 5 TD’s because of Florida’s physicality. Florida will eat Arky alive in the redzone just like every team they’ve faced. They just need to get there.
Look who crawled out of a hole. You still think Brennan is as good as Burrow? You do know you ain’t going to repeat
The five year drought against FSU actually felt shorter than the recent three year losing streak against UGA.
I guess it’s because FSU actually won a title during that span, and so didn’t feel the need to bring it up every six minutes… unlike our friends in Athens, for whom beating Florida is the apex of athletic accomplishment.
Hilariously true.
Don’t flatter yourself. Sure we enjoy beating the gaturds but it’s just one game on the way to a goal.