UCF’s Jordan Franks
TE at Swamp to see Hail Mary lift UF past Tennessee
gets a rare chance to see his brother play — and to celebrate the freshman’s Hail Mary pass to push UF past Tennessee in the Swamp on Saturday.
Jordan Franks said somebody was choking him amid the celebration as bedlam broke out at the Swamp in Gainesville on Saturday, but he didn’t mind.
It was the UCF tight end’s first chance to watch his brother, Feleipe Franks, play college football in person and he could not have picked a better weekend.
Deadlocked in a 20-20 tie with Tennessee in their SEC opener, the Florida Gators needed a late miracle from their redshirt freshman quarterback and they got it.
The younger Franks launched a desperation pass in the direction of a sprinting Tyrie Cleveland, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in stride, setting off pandemonium at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“I honestly knew they were going to try and throw it because he has a strong arm,” said Jordan Franks, who graduated from Wakulla High in 2014, two years ahead of his brother. “First time seeing him and he does that. I was happy for him.”
Amid the celebration, Franks said those around him acted as if he was the one who had thrown the touchdown pass, as the celebration in the stadium got wild.
“Someone choked me out. I don’t know who it was,” he laughed. “Everybody was like hugging me. I was like, ‘I’m just
his brother. I didn’t really do the job.’ It was crazy and then they had their little chants after the game. It was a fun experience.”
If it wasn’t for Hurricane Irma, Jordan Franks would have been playing a football game against Georgia Tech this past Saturday. The UCF tight end, however, found himself, along with the rest of the Knights, with a second consecutive idle Saturday due to a shuffling of the schedule, so he made the trip to Gainesville.
“My brother got me a ticket, me and my family. … It was the first time I watched him in college, so it was pretty nice,” Franks said.
The quarterback was always the one who drew all the attention when they were in high school, and Jordan Franks actually had trouble landing scholarship offers coming out of Wakulla.
UCF took a chance on him and it paid off. Franks, whose only other scholarship were offers from Southern Miss and FAU, liked what he saw in the Knights and committed the day his scholarship was offered.
Now he’s an integral part of the offense. He began his UCF career as a linebacker and moved around a bit in the first two years from defensive back to wide receiver, but now he’s become an important part of the tight end rotation, joining Jordan Akins and Michael Colubiale.
Franks started nine games last season, catching 11 passes for 143 yards. During UCF’s season-opening victory over FIU, he scored his first collegiate points, hauling in a two-point conversion pass from holder Mac Loudermilk on a fake kick pointafter-touchdown play.
Jordan and Feleipe Franks used to connect on the football field in high school, with the older Franks playing wide receiver. Now the pair can talk about their experiences at their own schools and Jordan Franks said it’s fun to have such a unique situation.
“He always tells me stories about what happens with him at Florida and I tell him stories about UCF,” Franks said. “It’s just cool to see him maturing, especially at a young age since he’s playing right now as a freshman.”