John Franklin to Play in NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on FS1 Saturday
1/19/2018 9:17:00 AM | Football
Lumberjack senior defensive end John Franklin to play on NFLPA Bowl’s National Team coached by Mike Martz Saturday, wearing #94
2018 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl National/American Team Roster
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A large number of the best seniors in college football will descend upon the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, Saturday, Jan. 20, for the 2018 version of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl. Among those competing in the seventh annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be Stephen F. Austin football senior defensive end John Franklin, who accepted his invitation to participate in November.
The premier postseason all-star game for draft-eligible college football players will kick off at 3 p.m. CST this Saturday and be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Franklin will be wearing the No. 94 jersey and lining up on defense for the National team as it takes on the American team.
The National team is led by Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Martz, who has guided the National team to the last three NFLPA Collegiate Bowl victories. Martz, best known as the mastermind behind the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf", won a Super Bowl as the team's offensive coordinator in 1999 before taking over as head coach from 2000-05. The American team is coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green. All six of the previous NFLPA Collegiate Bowls have been won by the National team.
Franklin is just one of three Southland Conference players playing in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, joined by Southeastern Louisiana linebacker Sione Teuhema and UIW graduate student punter Joe Zema. This week Franklin is in California attending NFLPA University, a week-long program that provides important information to aid in the transition into professional football from college life. NFLPA University prepares players for the speed and intensity of professional football, while also helping to acclimate student-athletes for the business and lifestyle changes that come with it.
A year ago, participants of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl had the privilege of competing in front of more than 200 scouts from all 32 NFL teams as well as eight general managers and 14 personnel directors. Over 60% of past participants currently appear on NFL rosters.
A native of Greenville, Texas, Franklin has had a remarkable journey from going 0-40 as a prep player at Greenville High School to a three-time All-Southland honoree. An All-Southland Second Team selection this past fall, Franklin finished out his Lumberjack career as one of SFA's top performers on the defensive line all-time. He led the Lumberjacks' defensive front in his final season suiting up in the Purple and White, posting a team-best 13.5 tackles for loss for negative 46 yards, including dishing out 3.5 sacks for a loss of 24 yards. In league play, Franklin's 11.5 tackles for loss were fifth-most in the conference as he tied for sixth in tackles for loss per game (1.28). Ranked 42nd nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.2) for the entire season, Franklin finished with the fifth-most total tackles (55) on the team, including 27 solo stops.
Prior to the 2017 season, Franklin was tabbed as the 31st most important player in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Franklin completed his Lumberjack career fifth on SFA's all-time career tackles for loss list with 37.5 over the past four seasons, while finishing ninth in program history in all-time career sacks (17.5).
With plethora of looks from NFL teams this fall, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will give Franklin another strong opportunity to become the first NFL Draft pick for SFA since 2011. Former All-American linebacker Jabara Williams was taken 228th in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, becoming the 32nd draft pick for the 'Jacks in program history.
Franklin is seeking to become the fifth Lumberjack to suit up for an NFL team during the Clint Conque era at SFA. He would join Gus Johnson (2014), Terran Vaughn 2015, Zach Conque (2016) and Justice Liggins (2016) as former 'Jacks who have made appearances on NFL rosters in recent years.
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will also be streamed live online and via the Fox Sports Go app, available here with TV/internet provider log-in.
-SFA-
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A large number of the best seniors in college football will descend upon the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, Saturday, Jan. 20, for the 2018 version of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl. Among those competing in the seventh annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be Stephen F. Austin football senior defensive end John Franklin, who accepted his invitation to participate in November.
The premier postseason all-star game for draft-eligible college football players will kick off at 3 p.m. CST this Saturday and be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Franklin will be wearing the No. 94 jersey and lining up on defense for the National team as it takes on the American team.
The National team is led by Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Martz, who has guided the National team to the last three NFLPA Collegiate Bowl victories. Martz, best known as the mastermind behind the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf", won a Super Bowl as the team's offensive coordinator in 1999 before taking over as head coach from 2000-05. The American team is coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green. All six of the previous NFLPA Collegiate Bowls have been won by the National team.
Franklin is just one of three Southland Conference players playing in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, joined by Southeastern Louisiana linebacker Sione Teuhema and UIW graduate student punter Joe Zema. This week Franklin is in California attending NFLPA University, a week-long program that provides important information to aid in the transition into professional football from college life. NFLPA University prepares players for the speed and intensity of professional football, while also helping to acclimate student-athletes for the business and lifestyle changes that come with it.
A year ago, participants of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl had the privilege of competing in front of more than 200 scouts from all 32 NFL teams as well as eight general managers and 14 personnel directors. Over 60% of past participants currently appear on NFL rosters.
A native of Greenville, Texas, Franklin has had a remarkable journey from going 0-40 as a prep player at Greenville High School to a three-time All-Southland honoree. An All-Southland Second Team selection this past fall, Franklin finished out his Lumberjack career as one of SFA's top performers on the defensive line all-time. He led the Lumberjacks' defensive front in his final season suiting up in the Purple and White, posting a team-best 13.5 tackles for loss for negative 46 yards, including dishing out 3.5 sacks for a loss of 24 yards. In league play, Franklin's 11.5 tackles for loss were fifth-most in the conference as he tied for sixth in tackles for loss per game (1.28). Ranked 42nd nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.2) for the entire season, Franklin finished with the fifth-most total tackles (55) on the team, including 27 solo stops.
Prior to the 2017 season, Franklin was tabbed as the 31st most important player in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Franklin completed his Lumberjack career fifth on SFA's all-time career tackles for loss list with 37.5 over the past four seasons, while finishing ninth in program history in all-time career sacks (17.5).
With plethora of looks from NFL teams this fall, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will give Franklin another strong opportunity to become the first NFL Draft pick for SFA since 2011. Former All-American linebacker Jabara Williams was taken 228th in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, becoming the 32nd draft pick for the 'Jacks in program history.
Franklin is seeking to become the fifth Lumberjack to suit up for an NFL team during the Clint Conque era at SFA. He would join Gus Johnson (2014), Terran Vaughn 2015, Zach Conque (2016) and Justice Liggins (2016) as former 'Jacks who have made appearances on NFL rosters in recent years.
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will also be streamed live online and via the Fox Sports Go app, available here with TV/internet provider log-in.
-SFA-
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