Arkansas QB Franks shines in showcase game
Throws late 21-yard TD pass to help clinch win for National team
Mobile, Ala. Arkansas’ Feleipe Franks threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mississippi tight end Kenny Yeboah in the fourth quarter of the Senior Bowl to help seal the National team’s 27- 24 victory over the American team on Saturday afternoon.
Franks, a graduate transfer from Florida, set up the allsoutheastern Conference Western Division scoring connection with a 29-yard completion to Louisville’s Dez Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick had six catches for 90 yards in the showcase game for senior and graduate NFL prospects.
North Carolina running back Michael Carter also had a big game. Carter scored on a piledriving 12-yard run late in the third quarter to help the Nationals retake the lead after a Kellen Mond-led comeback.
Jamie Newman then completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Grimes with 49 seconds left for the American team. The former Wake Forest quarterback, who transferred to Georgia but opted out before
the season, set it up with a 35-yard completion to Bowling Green tight end Quintin Morris.
Mond was the game Most Valuable Player. Fitzpatrick was the offensive player of the game and Tulane defensive lineman Cam Sample was the defensive player of the game.
The game was played for the first time at South Alabama’s new Hancock Whitney Stadium, with Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores leading the National team and Carolina’s Matt Rhule coaching the American team. It also switched from the traditional North versus South format.
Fitzpatrick delivered in a short-handed group of receivers.
“We were a little bit low on receivers,” Flores said. “A couple of guys went out. Availability is key and he was available and able to capitalize on his opportunities.
Franks completed 9of-16 passes for 122 yards. Carter averaged 8.0 yards per carry in his final season with the Tar Heels, and wasn’t far off in the all-star game.
He gained 60 yards on eight carries and had two catches for 15 yards.
Mond, the Texas A&M quarterback, delivered a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter to help erase a 13-0 halftime deficit. Mond even converted one two-point play with a run and the other with a pass, following touchdowns of 15 yards to Clemson’s Amari Rodgers and 14 yards to Tennessee’s Josh Palmer.
“It was a great feeling whether it was a simple drop back or making an insane play,” the former Aggies standout Mond said. “Everything was kind of rolling my way. Obviously, kind of shaky at the beginning but it definitely shows a lot of poise to be able to bounce back.”
Mond passed for 141 of his 173 yards in the third. But his SEC West counterpart, Franks, came through in the final quarter.
Newman completed 10-of-14 passes for 118 yards with a touchdown and interception.
The American team was without two of national champion Alabama’s biggest offensive weapons. Quarterback Mac Jones didn’t play after injuring his left ankle in Thursday’s final practice.
“My ankle was still stinging a little bit,” Jones, a potential first-round pick, said. “I didn’t want to take any big risks.”
Tailback Najee Harris withdrew from the game because of a lingering ankle injury from the national title game.