Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Feleipe Franks still moved by Hail Mary to beat Tennessee
GAINESVILLE — Last season against Tennessee, UF quarterback Feleipe Franks enjoyed a moment the 20-year said, “still gives me chills.”
Franks also does not want his 63-yard game-winning Hail Mary against the rival Vols to define him.
The spectacular heave to Tyrie Cleveland stands out among big plays for Franks as Gators’ QB. He hopes the modest list continues to grow, beginning Saturday night when UF (2-1) visits Tennessee (2-1).
“Hopefully there’s a lot more good plays to come,” Franks said Monday. “This is definitely one of the tops for now … it’s pretty good.”
Few plays have been more dramatic during a series dating to 1916.
A 6-3 snoozer turned into a thriller during a fourthquarter shootout featuring 37 points. UF held a pair of 10-point leads, including with 5:13 remaining on a 5-yard touchdown catch by Brandon Powell.
A 27-yard field goal by Vols’ kicker Aaron Medley with 50 seconds to go tied the game at 20-20. Facing first-and-10 from their 37-yard line with nine seconds remaining, the Gators needed a miracle.
Franks and Cleveland delivered one when the Gators’ receiver slipped behind Tennessee safety Micah Abernathy on a play Franks and Cleveland had practiced in the team’s indoor facility during the summer.
Abernathy remains haunted by the memory.
“As a competitor, I’ve watched it multiple times,” he told reporters Monday. “I try to see what I could do differently. That’s just the competitive edge any player’s going to have.”
The play sent the Swamp into a frenzy and ended in a dogpile in the south end zone.
Franks and Cleveland etched a place in UF history, though not on the level of “The Catch” by Jabari Gaffney to beat Tennessee in 2000 or the hit by Lawrence Wright on Joey Kent during UF’s 1995 win.
Ultimately, last season’s Hail Mary had little impact on the fortunes of either program. Each team finished with a losing record, and coaches Jim McElwain and Butch Jones were let go.
Franks said the play has nothing to do with Saturday’s game, either. He said he has watched it many times, but has no plans to do so this week.
“A whole other year, a whole other game.”
With most of the 2018 season ahead, Franks is ready to move on, too.
At the same time, he cherishes the biggest moment of his fledgling career and still finds himself occasionally coming across the replay.
“It was something that seemed unreal,” he recalled. “I’ve seen [the play] around again, kind of just gave me chills. That was really cool.”