Ex-safety Franklin tackling new challenges at linebacker

BY TOM MURPHY

Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/234818/

FAYETTEVILLE — Safeties don’t turn into linebackers overnight.

Jerry Franklin was a hotly recruited skill guy / safety out of Marion when he showed up on the Arkansas campus last summer, and his conversion to a linebacker has been a methodical, if not sometimes bumpy, process.

With the middle linebacker spot opening up after Weston Dacus’ departure and junior Wendel Davis’ knee injury, Franklin dove into the mix for a starting job in the spring.

His self-evaluation from that period was tough.

“In spring practice, I was terrible, to be honest with you,” Franklin said. “Flat-out terrible.

“ I had no technique. I wasn’t used to linemen climbing up on me that fast.”

Now the position has grown on Franklin, just as the weight has filled in on his 6-2, 230-pound frame. While projected starters and hard-charging freshmen have fallen back or slowed down in the spots around him, Franklin has stayed strong.

“Jerry Franklin is doing a nice job,” Coach Bobby Petrino said after the Razorbacks’ scrimmage Saturday. “He has a great understanding of how to defend the pass. That’s the No. 1 area he has improved. He does a good job of tackling.”

Linebackers coach Reggie Johnson also emphasized Franklin’s improved tackling.

“He’s seeing things better,” Johnson said. “His vision is better, and he’s understanding pass coverages better, so he’s grown a lot.”

Franklin was calling the defense in the spring, but that responsibility went to senior outside linebacker Elston Forte at the start of camp. The difference for Franklin is that he began playing a lot faster.

“All of a sudden he started connecting the dots and seeing things and being physical and running downhill,” defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.

When the team captain Forte suffered a knee injury after the first week of camp, Franklin resumed calling the defense. Now he’s combining quicker recognition with playing fast, two mandatory qualities for a play-calling middle linebacker.

“Now he’s gained his confidence in what he’s doing, and he’s earned that right to go into the front of the huddle,” Robinson said. “That guy that steps into the front of that huddle, that’s a dang leader for us on that football field.”

Franklin’s defensive teammates have taken notice.

“Jerry’s gotten real good... and he’s definitely going to be big this season,” said defensive tackle and team captain Malcolm Sheppard.

“Jerry Franklin was out there hitting people today,” safety Matt Harris said after the Hogs’ last scrimmage. “He’s out there moving around, and we like him in the middle.”

Arkansas coaches say they’re “force-feeding” leadership to Franklin.

“It’s still a growing process,” Johnson said earlier in camp. “He’s gotten better with each practice, and again, I think he had one of the better scrimmages since we’ve been here.”

Attacking the run is an area where Franklin must keep improving.

“He still needs to come downhill a little more versus the run game,” Petrino said.

Earlier in camp, when freshman Tenarius Wright got some first-team snaps at middle linebacker, Franklin responded like a fierce competitor.

“[Wright ] is good, he can play,” Franklin said. “We’re all playing some football. It’s not decided in the media. It’s decided on the field who gets the starting job.”

While the first-string defense has had its issues with injuries and trying to keep Petrino’s multifaceted offense from slicing and dicing its way down the field, Franklin has held steady in the middle as more responsibility is heaped on his shoulders.

“To be honest with you, at one point I did [feel the weight of calling defenses and making plays ], but really not now,” Franklin said. “It’s going pretty smooth right now. I really know the playbook now, so it’s all right.”

Johnson has expectations for his redshirt freshman.

“I just need him to execute the defense, be a solid tackler and a solid performer in the middle,” Johnson said. “I say he’s still a young guy, but we’re expecting a lot of things from him.... I’m not asking him to do anything extraordinary but execute the defense and be a solid tackler inside.”