Ex-FAU standout on target with Bears
Going from offense to defense a challenge for confident Franklin
SUNRISE — Unexpected twists and turns are something former FAU standout John Franklin III is used to after making four college stops over five years.
He was hit with another one when he signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent last year. The speedster and lifelong offensive dynamo was asked to transition to playing cornerback.
Struggling with the position change at first, Franklin spent the season on the Bears’ practice squad. After going through organized team activities and minicamp this offseason, Franklin now feels he has a real chance at making Chicago’s 53-man roster playing defense.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable,” said Franklin ahead of last Saturday’s 40 Yards of Gold, the inaugural NFL speed tournament he competed in at BB&T Center. “Never played defense, but now with a year under my belt, I feel like a totally different player ready to really contribute, make plays this year.
“I’m building my confidence at my position, and that’s scary. Confidence is scary when you see what you can do. I’m looking forward to upcoming training camp and next season.”
Franklin, since graduating from South Plantation High in 2013, started his college career as a three-star quarterback recruit heading to Florida State. There, Jameis Winston was coming off his redshirt year before winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Seminoles to a national championship.
So with playing time in Talla
hassee hard to come by, Franklin left for East Mississippi Community College, where he was featured in the popular Netflix series “Last Chance U.” Playing one season at Auburn in 2016, he finished up at FAU in 2017 under coach Lane Kiffin, gaining 229 rushing yards and 95 receiving yards with three total touchdowns.
“Adversity,” Franklin said of what he learned throughout college. “In the NFL, it’s a one-day job. Yeah, you sign a three-year contract, but it’s a day-by-day job, so you got to be able to take advantage of your opportunity.
That’s one thing I’ve lived throughout my career. Make the most out of every opportunity because you don’t know how many you’re going to have.
“The adversity I’ve faced in my career, I feel like it’s built me and made me resilient to a lot of things. Perseverance is one of the things that I believe describes me best. I just won’t be denied from getting what I want. That’s what’s carried me to my position where I am now. Even when I’ve had doubts and times I wanted to give up, it was just I can’t be defeated.”
One of the biggest challenges for Franklin at cornerback was just learning how to backpedal.
“It was just getting my
body accustomed to doing different movements, seeing things from a different way,” he said. “Mentally, it was easy because playing quarterback, how they’re on defense, it’s what I’m looking at but on the opposite side.”
He has seen improvement with his performance in practice.
“Last year, I couldn’t even get in my stance,” Franklin said. “Now, I’m catching interceptions in practice, pick-six, breaking up passes, seeing and playing routes better.”
Franklin said he has intercepted every Bears quarterback in practice except starter Mitchell Trubisky.
“I told him he’s next on my list,” Franklin said.