Franklin faces Als with two records in sight
TORONTO — James Franklin is not a big fan of running the football, yet the Toronto Argonauts quarterback is chasing two notable rushing records.
Franklin has scored a team recordtying 12 rushing touchdowns this season, which is two short of the CFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback set by Doug Flutie in 1991 with the B.C. Lions.
Both marks will certainly be within striking distance Saturday when Franklin and the Argos (3-12) host the Montreal Alouettes (3-12) at BMO Field.
“It would be pretty cool,” Franklin said Friday. “I definitely never thought I’d be this close to a rushing record but it’s exciting.
“If I can do that it says a lot that coach Trestman (Toronto head coach Marc Trestman) is still calling quarterback sneaks and also the guys on the line really blocking and giving me the opportunity.
“It’s a big credit to them, they’re doing all the work and I’m just kind of riding the wave.”
Franklin also showed a nose for the end zone in college.
In 2011 as a sophomore at Missouri, Franklin rushed for 981 yards and 15 TDs on 217 carries (4.5-yard average) in 13 games.
“Fun fact,” Franklin said. “That year, the average carries for a running back in college football was 172 while as a quarterback I had 217 so I was a little banged up.”
The six-foot-two, 225-pound Franklin is Toronto’s second-leading rusher this season with 247 yards on 62 carries (4.0-yard average), and with 12 rushing TDs is tied with Edmonton’s Mike Reilly for tops in the CFL.
However, those numbers are deceptive because whether he’s starting or backing up, Franklin runs the Argos’ short-yardage offence and most of his touchdowns have come from in close.
But Franklin, 27, has gone two games without a rushing TD.
He came off the bench to throw two fourth-quarter TD strikes in Toronto’s 26-23 road loss to B.C. on Oct 6 before completing 22 of 37 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns as the starter in last Friday night’s 34-20 home loss to Hamilton.
Franklin will make his second straight start Saturday and sixth of the season for Toronto, which has dropped seven straight and been eliminated from post-season contention.
Franklin is the only Argos quarterback under contract for 2019.
“I think he’s doing some really good things,” Trestman said.
“He’s shown he can make some dynamic plays and throws, those have shown up the last two weeks.
“He’s not afraid to put that ball in there, to throw it in tight places. He’s an accurate thrower but we’ve missed some throws that have taken explosive plays away from us.”
Inconsistency has plagued Toronto this season in all three phases. But all three of its wins have come at BMO Field and Saturday’s contest is the club’s final home game of the year so Trestman would like to reward the Argos’ fan base — just over 14,000 spectators on average per game — with a victory.
“We don’t have one side of the ball that’s carrying us this year,” he said. “We’ve played decent football but we haven’t played enough winning football on either side to get it done.
“We might not have many fans but we have great fans and we know people are watching us television-wise.”
Montreal Alouettes (3-12) at Toronto Argonauts (3-12) Saturday afternoon, BMO Field Key matchup:
Argos QB James Franklin vs. Alouettes QB Johnny Manziel. Franklin is 0-1 in his second stint as Toronto’s starter and 1-4 overall this season. Manziel, a former Heisman Trophy winner, makes his sixth start with Montreal but is searching for his first CFL win. The big number: 7 — Number of games Toronto has lost in a row. Who’s hot: Argos receiver S.J. Green. He had seven catches for 127 yards and a TD in Toronto’s 30-24 loss last week to Hamilton and has been one of the club’s few bright spots offensively for the club with 69 catches for 918 yards and four TDs.
Who’s not: Manziel. He has more interceptions (six) than TD passes (two), been sacked 19 times and is 0-5 as Montreal’s starter. Manziel has completed 72 of 116 passes (62.1 per cent) for 872 yards while rushing for 139 yards on 21 carries (6.6-yard average).