Name: Leon Franklin
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) A&T
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Franklin #70 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He ran 4 times for 9 yards and caught 1 pass for a 20-yard touchdown.
TTB Rating: N/A
Franklin, a walk-on back, got a few opportunities again in 2022 during blowout situations to touch the ball, along with playing special teams in several games. His season was highlighted by the UConn game, where he caught a dump-off from a scrambling Alan Bowman and toted it in for a 20-yard touchdown. But his touches came behind other backups, like C.J. Stokes and Tavierre Dunlap.
I expect Franklin to move down the depth chart in 2023 with the arrival of Benjamin Hall and Cole Cabana. Michigan did not lose any running backs in the off-season to the NFL, graduation, or transfer, and both Hall and Cabana arrive fresh out of high school. Hall had an impressive spring game, and Cabana is a speedster who enrolled early but missed time in the spring due to injury. The coaching staff needs to develop one or two guys for 2024 after Blake Corum and possibly Donovan Edwards have left for the NFL, and the fifth-year senior Franklin won’t be in the mix. So while Franklin should still play on special teams and maybe get a couple touches, I think Hall and/or Cabana will make more meaningful contributions.
Prediction: Backup running back and special teamer
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