Tag: Leon Franklin

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Post-season 2023

FORMER PLAYERS

TE Erick All (Iowa): All tore his ACL this past season but finished as Iowa’s leading receiver, catching 21 passes for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite having another year of eligibility if he wanted it, he declared for the NFL Draft.

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 27 passes for 429 yards and 1 touchdown before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman led Oklahoma State to a 10-4 record this season. Things started off a little rocky, but he ultimately locked down the starting job and went 304/501 (60.7%) for 3,460 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also ran 26 times for 24 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will return to the Cowboys in 2024 for a seventh season of eligibility.

Hit the jump for more.

2023 Season Countdown: #84 Leon Franklin

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

2022 Season Countdown: #70 Leon Franklin

Name: Leon Franklin
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) A&T
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Franklin #108 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He ran 8 times for 33 yards while playing in nine games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Franklin came out of nowhere as a walk-on to be the #4 running back last season. A prep running back from Southfield, he didn’t play football at all as a freshman, redshirted as a second-year player, and then appeared on the field in 2021, getting more snaps than 3-star recruit Tavierre Dunlap. His season high in carries was 3 in the season opener against Western Michigan, and he only totaled 8 carries for 33 yards. But he was usually the first guy in behind Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum, and Donovan Edwards.

Now that Haskins is gone to the NFL, it might make sense to bump him up to #3, but I don’t think that will be the case. I think Dunlap is a superior talent and played less last season to preserve his redshirt. They may preserve freshman C.J. Stokes’s redshirt in the same manner as Dunlap’s last year, but also the staff has moved Kalel Mullings to running back part-time – if not full-time – to be a power back. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Franklin drop to at least #5 on the running back depth chart in 2022.

Prediction: Backup running back and special teamer

2021 Season Countdown: #108 Leon Franklin

Name: Leon Franklin
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 193 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) A&T
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #34
Last year: I did not rank Franklin. He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

Franklin was a solid running back for Southfield A&T, finishing his career during the 2018 season. At 5’8″ he and new running backs coach Mike Hart can look at each other eye-to-eye. Franklin is more of a downhill guy than a speed guy. He’s never going to be in the mix to play heavy minutes because of who’s ahead of him, but can he be a guy who represents a pinball-type runner on the scout team? Sure.