Football is a nasty, vicious sport. The bone-crushing collisions and the fierce determination put into every play are enough to make any man give into his anger and say words he might regret off the field, but are perfectly acceptable on it.
But there’s one who won’t let loose a curse word, and he happens to play the biggest position for the Missouri Tigers.
“Never have, never will,” sophomore quarterback James Franklin said. “For some reason, everyone thinks that if you do something bad, you have to curse. But that’s not the case. I always try to make sure I know what I’m saying before I say it. “
This is James Franklin, the sophomore quarterback taking the reins of the Missouri offense this season. After the departure of Blaine Gabbert to the NFL, the Tigers will go to battle with this young man from Lake Dallas, Texas, who has impressed coaches in preseason and by all accounts has an impressive attitude.
“He’s one heck of a guy,” tight end Michael Egnew said.
In a world where athletes make just as many headlines for behavior off the field as their performance on it, James Michael Ray Franklin seems to be the antithesis, according to teammates.
“He’s a genuine guy,” senior tailback De’Vion Moore said. “His personality, it’s above and beyond. When it comes down to having a guy there to talk to, having a guy there to support you, having someone you can really talk to and have a conversation with, James is your guy. I couldn’t even think of any bad thing to say about James.”
Franklin answers every question with a beaming smile and a respectful “Yes, sir.” He’s active in the community, volunteering at an animal shelter and a couple of local charities. He’s grounded in his Christian faith, always making sure he prays before each game. One would be hard-pressed to get him to say something negative about a teammate.
He also refuses to curse, a reflection of the positive attitude he’s trying to spread throughout the locker room.
“A lot of the guys on the team are really good about it, especially around me,” Franklin said. “They do their best not to curse around me, and that really means a lot to me. I catch ‘em a few times, but they’re really good about it. If they do I don’t make a big deal about it, but I’ll joke about it to them.”
As a Missouri quarterback, comparisons are inevitable. With predecessors like Gabbert, Chase Daniel and Brad Smith, the expectations for Franklin are high. But the comparison between Franklin and Smith seemed to be the most popular at camp, and not just for their football skills.
“They have very similar personalities,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “Brad was never much of a vocal leader at all, and he was a pretty good player. My thing with James is that everyone has their own leadership style. The best thing you can do as a young quarterback, leadership-wise, the best thing you can do is play well. That’s what we’re looking for.”
And that’s just what they might get, considering the talent surrounding Franklin. With a deep receiving core featuring all-Big 12 Conference performers T.J. Moe and Egnew, as well as three running backs all capable of making an impact, the sophomore quarterback has a bit of a safety net to fall back on.
But ultimately, all eyes will be on Franklin as the season begins. It’s something he says he’s growing more comfortable with, having been under the spotlight all preseason.
And even with the added pressure, he said he’s reached some of the goals he wanted to in order to be ready for Saturday’s opener.
“I didn’t accomplish all of them, but I got better at them, and that’s something I wanted to do,” Franklin said. “In the end, all quarterbacks are perfectionists. They just want to get everything, want to make sure we accomplish everything we want to do. I think the biggest thing is I got better at each one on the list. I didn’t master all of them, but I got better.”
