Four-star dual-threat QB Felipe Franks earned MVP honors at the Orlando Nike Opening Regional this weekend, reaffirming his commitment to LSU and picking up an Elite 11 invite in the process.
Franks, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound native of Crawfordville, Fla., still is getting pursued by Texas and Florida after committing to the Tigers on June 1.
“LSU is definitely my school,” Franks said, according to Scout.com. “They have shown me so much love, I have built a strong relationship with the coaches, and I really fit in there.
“I am really only talking to LSU right now. Those are the coaches I call and I don’t really respond to the other schools. I just feel LSU is the best place for me. Coach Cam Cameron is a coach I feel can prepare me and he is really a key in my decision. He has a great resume, he has coached in the NFL, and I know I can get better under his coaching.”
Here’s how the Scout.com report viewed Franks’ performance this weekend:
I really like Franks demeanor on the field. He has a quiet confidence about him and he really takes coaching as well as any prospect I have seen. He responds to the coaches, he soaks it all in, and he is a very intelligent young man. …
He was by far the best quarterback I saw at either camp (Miami and Orlando) over the weekend and what makes that even better is, he still has so much room to grow as a player.
Franks has the intangibles and that really stands out to me. He is a quiet leader, he plays the game under control, he has the ability to buy time in the pocket to extend plays, he is smart with the ball, and he just sees the game at a different speed from others.
The Elite 11 invite is a big deal for a quarterback and yet another chance for Franks to continue to compete and improve before he arrives on campus at LSU. Tigers fans thirsty for some good quarterback news can’t wait until he arrives in Baton Rouge.
Meanwhile, LSU continues to steer toward what could be a mind-blowing defensive backs class in 2016.
The team already has a commitment from Saivion Smith, the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 1 player in the state of Florida. Smith’s teammate, Khalil Ladler, is the No. 7 cornerback in the class and the No. 11 player in the state of Florida, and he recently visited LSU. Trayvon Mullen, the No. 5 cornerback in the country, another Florida prospect, just named LSU his current No. 1 school as of this weekend.
The top three safeties in the country visited the campus together a few weekends ago.
LSU also has a five-star defensive tackle visiting the school on Saturday and currently ranks No. 5 in the 2016 composite rankings by 247Sports.
It’s very early in the recruiting cycle, and it remains to be seen which players will sign with the Tigers come National Signing Day, but all of the above has to be encouraging to LSU fans.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
