Nikola Vucevic
Gators’ Franks among young QBs who need time to develop
scores a team-high 23 as the Magic dominate throughout a 114-93 victory in Cleveland.
GAINESVILLE — During two decades tutoring college quarterbacks, Dan Mullen has developed a No. 1 draft pick, a Heisman Trophy winner and an NFL Rookie of the Year.
If Mullen learned one thing coaching Alex Smith at Utah, Tim Tebow at UF and, most recently, Dak Prescott at Mississippi State, it is no two young quarterbacks are the same. “Each guy is such a different individual,” Mullen said. Each has his own skill set, learning curve and leadership approach a coach needs to identify and cultivate.
Yet too often success is fleeting while the flaws are hard to miss — and not always easy to fix.
“What you do is see glimpses of talent, see glimpses of things they do well, and then you have to go build on their strengths,” Mullen said. “What you can do is say this guy, he does this, this, this well. Well, you got to look at all the things he doesn’t do well, and you have no idea how long that is going to take to develop all of those things.”
SEC coaches have had a wide range of experiences with young quarterbacks in recent seasons.
Alabama’s Jalen Hurts helped his team to the 2017 national title game and Georgia’s Jake Fromm has shined this season for the nation’s third-ranked team. In other cases, the transition to the college game has been more difficult, including for Feleipe Franks at Florida.
Franks’ struggling Gators (3-3, 3-2 SEC) and Fromm’s unbeaten Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0) will square off Saturday in Jacksonville. One young quarterback could decide the outcome, but how well his teammates perform will be equally critical.
“With a good supporting cast, it gives these young kids a chance,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. Smart should know. During his two seasons in Athens, Smart has seen first-year freshman quarterback Jacob Eason struggle on an injuryriddled, inexperienced 2016 team and Fromm, who replaced an injured Eason during Week 1, thrive with the help of the SEC’s top-ranked defense and secondranked running game.
The improvement of Georgia’s quarterback play has been staggering.
Fromm has completed passes at a much higher rate — 62 percent compared to 55.1 percent for Eason. Fromm averages 9.6 yards per attempt, while Eason averaged 6.6 last season.
Meanwhile at UF, Franks seemingly has regressed while coach Jim McElwain juggles suspensions and injuries, a rebuilding defense and inconsistent offensive line play.
During last week’s loss to Texas A&M, Franks posted a career-low 91.7 passer rating, missed open receivers, suffered five sacks and ended his night with an interception. Afterward, the 19-year-old shared his frustration, but also spoke optimistically about an uncertain future.
“There’s times here and there where I’m just — a little bit uncomfortable,” Franks said. “It comes with playing the position.
No really excuses. It just comes with playing experience.
“As I’m getting it, I’m getting better and better every game, I think, and that’s really the only thing that matters.”
Franks’ six college starts is a small sample size. Yet he has offered little evidence he is improving week to week — something coaches seek with a young QB.
“He has to get better with each game,” Smart said. “That’s the key, not making the same mistake twice with these young quarterbacks.”
Franks’ issues do seem more mental than physical. His gamewinning touchdown pass to beat Tennessee showcased his arm strength while a 79-yard run against Texas A&M highlighted his athletic ability.
However, he has only managed three more touchdown passes so far this year.
“When I watch him practice, when I watch him run and I watch his stature and footwork, I don’t know what he’s missing,” said longtime CBS analyst Gary Danielson, a former NFL quarterback.
Danielson points instead to the micromanaging he sees as increasingly common in big-time college football. High-salaried coaches under tremendous pressure from fans can become as timid as the teen under center.
“I just see a lot of people nervous,” Danielson said. “I don’t see people cutting it loose the way I remember five or six years ago. They all seem to be trying to manage their quarterback so their quarterback doesn’t beat them, and they’re also betting that the other quarterback will lose it.”
At the same time, few coaches are ready to trust a young QB with a complete game plan, even if the player insists he can handle it.
“Most of those guys are all pleasers,” Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. “They all want to tell you want you want to hear, think they have the playbook. The first thing you have to do is build a relationship where you don’t find out on Saturday what they don’t know.
“You try to have them be honest with you that they’re not comfortable with certain things, or they don’t really like them.”
Sumlin reined in even redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel to start his career. A close loss to UF to open the 2012 season convinced Sumlin he needed to unleash Manziel, and the Aggies won 11 of their next 12 games.
“It’s not about what you like as a coach, it’s more about what they like and see on the field,” Sumlin said.
But Manziel, the first freshman to win the Heisman, was an outlier. Most young quarterbacks need time, seasoning and a coach’s understanding.
“Have to have a lot of patience,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Guys don’t always do it the way you exactly want, but the big thing is, how do I coach this guy to get better every week?”
Given the demands of the position, some young quarterbacks flourish, some falter and some find themselves eventually.
None is ever a finished product.
Franks and other young quarterbacks off to rocky starts can take solace in the evolution of Missouri’s Drew Lock, who threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first year leading the Tigers’ offense. Lock, now a junior, leads the the SEC with 23 touchdowns passes.
Lock’s progress shows weeks turn into months, months into seasons and seasons into careers for those quarterbacks who continue to grow.
“I don’t think there’s really an exact science in any of it,” Mullen said. “To be honest with you, it’s constant development for everybody at the quarterback position.”
“What you do is see glimpses of talent, see glimpses of things they do well, and then you have to go build on their strengths.” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, on young QBs