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Thursday, September 28, 2023

He's coming home to a place that he remembers, but Troy Franklin has made a home in opponents' end zones. Soon, the NFL

 


Troy Franklin grew up in East Palo Alto, about three miles from the Stanford campus. He attended high school at Menlo-Atherton High in Menlo Park.

Coming out of high school he was the number two wide receiver prospect in the country, the second-highest the Ducks had ever signed, part of Mario Cristobal's last class as Oregon coach in 2021. Now in his third season, he's one of the best wide receivers in the country, tied for 2nd in the nation in touchdowns with five.

Against The Cardinal, he could be headed for another big day. They have the worst pass defense in the PAC-12, allowing 307 yards per game. Colorado, the team the Ducks thrashed 42-6 last week, stands 11th. There's a pattern here.

Franklin told reporters this week, "My standard is to always play at a high level." He has what scouts like to call a high football IQ. Since his days at Menlo-Atherton he's been the rarest kind of gifted player: meticulous about preparation and a student of film.

Former high school coach and mentor Adhir Ravipati told Tyson Alger of The Athletic that the 6-3, 187-pound wideout's exceptional talent was apparent very early. “That first summer of 7-on-7, he hadn’t even enrolled yet and he was already dominating varsity kids,” Ravipati said. “People were like, ‘Who is that kid?’ And I was like, ‘He’s 14.’

“Then I remember seeing him practice as a freshman and it was like, ‘Yep, this kid is going to be a national recruit.’ Took 10 minutes to see how talented he was.”

Three years later the whole country is waking up to what a special player he is, skyrocketing up draft boards with big plays, week after week. In the young season Franklin already has three one hundred-yard games, hauling in 25 passes for 418 yards, including a 72-yard bomb against Texas Tech and a 36-yard TD versus the Buffaloes.

In the second quarter with the Ducks leading 21-0, Colorado called a timeout with 2:42 to play. It didn't help, however. Nix had Franklin split out wide to the right.  The Buffaloes rushed three and dropped eight. Ajani Cornelius walled off the right side, and Josh Conerly the left. Jackson Powers-Johnson and Marcus Harper II double team the nose tackle, who's stymied at the line of scrimmage.

Nix had a perfect pocket, time to set up and throw. The Colorado safety bites hard on the out route, and Franklin is wide open over the middle for an easy score.

It was a nearly perfect play in an explosive offense, one of the many highlight moments in Franklin's dazzling Oregon career. Everybody knows they have to cover him, but hardly anyone can. 


Posted by Dale Bliss at 5:50 AM

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