Capitalizing on opportunity

Jarrett Franklin wasn't sure if he was going to get a chance to play Division II football - let alone Division I.

His high school coaches told him his senior year he would be lucky to get a Division II scholarship. But head coach Jeff Quinn saw something others didn't see in the undersized defensive end.

"[I] don't look at the size of the guy; [I] look at what's in his heart," Quinn said. "And that's what I saw in him. He's just a quality young man that is doing extremely well in school along with balancing playing as a true freshman, which isn't easy to do."

On Tuesday night, Franklin took the most snaps of any Bull and led the team with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Franklin, a freshman linebacker, was a wrestler before he played football - one of the reasons Quinn was drawn to him. In elementary school, one of his coaches realized his style of wrestling was football-like.

The coach suggested he play football, so Franklin did and immediately loved the game, particularly the contact. He played football all throughout high school and started as a junior and senior on varsity.

His senior year, he was a captain on both the wrestling and football teams. He recorded 85 tackles, 21 sacks and two fumble recoveries and was named first-team All-State (Missouri) by the media. In wrestling, he won a state title his junior year and lost in the championship round his senior year.

Before coming to campus, Franklin thought he would be redshirting his freshman season. He saw a lot of older, talented players who already had established roles and figured he would spend the year learning from them.

And that's exactly what he's done, particularly under senior linebacker Khalil Mack.

Franklin came onto campus early this past summer with the other freshmen and his performance in the classroom immediately made an impression with the coaching staff.

Quinn was impressed with his grades but, because coaches can't lead practices during the summer, he wasn't sure how that would translate onto the field. Once practice started, Quinn realized Franklin could be a solid contributor as a true freshman.

Franklin is a key member of three of the Bulls' four core special teams formations, but he didn't see many defensive snaps until injuries began to wear down the linebacking core.

On Oct. 26 at Kent State, junior linebacker Adam Redden went down with a knee injury and Franklin started to see more playing time.

On Tuesday, Franklin was rotated in regularly - and he proved he was ready.

"It's important that guys like [Franklin] demonstrate to the other freshmen that if you do all these things the right way and you're a good player and they have a need for you to be in there, then obviously you're going to have an opportunity to answer the call," Quinn said.

When Buffalo called last year, Franklin did an internet search of the program and discovered Mack. He saw Mack's skills and it only made him more excited about attending UB.

"I was ecstatic to be able to play on the same defense as he was," Franklin said.

Both Mack and defensive coordinator Lou Tepper have helped mentor Franklin during his transition from defensive end to linebacker. Franklin says they've helped improve his form the most.

Franklin has been impressed with the way the veteran players have welcomed the freshmen and made them feel at home. He sees an enthusiasm that the senior leadership has passed on to the younger athletes.

"I think our young guys have a lot of enthusiasm," Franklin said. "Even on the sidelines during the game when they're getting ready for kickoff, it's amazing. It seriously brings energy to the field and I still think we are going to have that next year."

With Redden not expected to return until Nov. 29 against Bowling Green, Franklin figures to be a key contributor on defense the rest of the season.

The Bulls' next game is on Tuesday, Oct. 12, when they travel to Toledo. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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