| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | (1994-09-21)September 21, 1994 (age 30) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 186 lb (84 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | South Plantation (Plantation, Florida) | ||||
| College: | Florida State (2013–2014) East Mississippi CC (2015) Auburn (2016) Florida Atlantic (2017) | ||||
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
John Franklin III (born September 21, 1994) is an American professionalfootballwide receiver. He playedcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles,Auburn Tigers andFlorida Atlantic Owls. He also played junior college football for theEast Mississippi Lions, where he was featured prominently in the first season ofLast Chance U. He was signed by theChicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
Before college, Franklin attendedSouth Plantation High School inFort Lauderdale, Florida.[1] Franklin redshirted the 2013 season while playing for theFlorida State Seminoles.[2] The Seminoles won the2014 BCS National Championship Game against theAuburn Tigers. He was the scout team quarterback mostly used to mirror what the Noles would deal with inNick Marshall.[3] Franklin saw limited action in 2014. He was a member of ACC champion 4×100 relay team at Florida State.[4]
Franklin transferred toEast Mississippi Community College after the 2014 season.[5] With the Lions, Franklin served mostly as a backup quarterback to Wyatt Roberts, as they won the MACJC North title. He only started on one occasion, against theCopiah–Lincoln Wolves, but ended up being pulled in favor of Roberts.[6][7] On October 22, 2015, Franklin scored five rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown against theMississippi Delta Trojans, before the game was called off after a brawl broke out between both sides.[8][9] The 2015 football season was documented in theNetflix seriesLast Chance U in 2016.[10] On the year, Franklin went 64–110 (58.2%) while throwing for 733 yards along with a 7–2 touchdown to interception ratio. He also added 451 yards on the ground on only 43 attempts giving him an average of 10.5 yards per carry on his way to 9 rushing touchdowns.
Franklin enrolled atAuburn University for his junior year, where he appeared in 12 games, while making one start with the Tigers. In his 12 games, he went 14–26 (53.8%) while throwing for 204 yards along with one touchdown. On the ground, he added 430 yards on only 46 carries giving him an explosive average of 9.3 yards per carry, also adding two touchdowns. He grew increasingly unhappy with his role on the team and on March 8, 2017, ESPN reported he was moving to wide receiver for the 2017 season.[11]
On August 15, 2017, he transferred toFlorida Atlantic University to play for theFlorida Atlantic Owls under head coachLane Kiffin, as a graduate transfer.[12] He had 16 rushes for 229 yards with an average of 14.3 yards per carry while rushing for two touchdowns. He also caught seven balls for 95 yards and one touchdown while averaging 13.6 yards a catch. He also went 1–2 (50%) for 49 yards.
At FAU'sPro Day in March 2018, Franklin was timed as running a 4.40 second40-yard dash.[13]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2013 | Florida State | 0 | 0 |  Redshirt | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | ||
| 2015[14] | East Mississippi | 9 | 1 | 64 | 110 | 58.2 | 733 | 6.7 | 7 | 2 | 131.5 | 43 | 451 | 10.5 | 9 | |
| 2016 | Auburn | 13 | 1 | 14 | 26 | 53.8 | 203 | 7.8 | 1 | 0 | 132.4 | 46 | 430 | 33.1 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Florida Atlantic | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 49 | 24.5 | 0 | – | 255.8 | 16 | 229 | 17.6 | 3 | |
| Career[15] | 27 | 4 | 79 | 138 | 162.0 | 985 | 39.0 | 2 | 2 | 519.7 | 105 | 1,110 | 61.2 | 14 | ||
After going undrafted in the2018 NFL draft, Franklin attended theChicago Bears rookie mini camp on a tryout basis as a defensive back.[16] On May 14, 2018, Franklin was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent.[17] On September 1, he was waived by the Bears.[18] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 27, but was released later that day.[19] Two months later, on November 24, he returned to Chicago's practice squad.[20] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears on January 8, 2019.[21] He was waived on August 31.[22]
In October 2019, Franklin was selected by theDallas Renegades in the2020 XFL draft,[23] but did not sign with the league.
On November 13, 2019, Franklin was signed to theTampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 24, where he was listed as a wide receiver.[24]
Franklin was placed oninjured reserve on August 23, 2020, after suffering a leg injury during training camp.[25] On February 7, 2021, he won aSuper Bowl with the Buccaneers, even though he did not play a single snap for the entire season.[26] He was waived on August 17.[27]
On December 2, while still a free agent, he was suspended three games by the NFL for "misrepresenting [his] COVID-19 vaccination status".[28]
Franklin was drafted by theTampa Bay Bandits in the 17th round of the2022 USFL draft.[29] He was transferred to the team's practice squad on April 16, 2022,[30] and back to the active roster two days later.[31]
Franklin and all other Tampa Bay Bandits players were all transferred to theMemphis Showboats after it was announced that the Bandits were taking a hiatus and that the Showboats were joining the league.[32] He was placed on the team's injured reserve list on April 27, 2023.[33] He was not part of the roster after the2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[34]
On February 21, 2024, Franklin signed with theEdmonton Elks of theCanadian Football League (CFL).[35] Coincidentally, Frankin became teammates with quarterbackMalik Henry, who appeared in the third and fourth seasons ofLast Chance U.[36] He was released on June 3.[37]
Franklin is married to his wife Frankie Taylor,[38][39] with whom he has a son.[40]
He started the second game of the season for East Mississippi, but was benched after the first series. An inaccurate and inconsistent passer who apparently is prone to fumbling, Franklin never again seriously competed for the starting job.