Franks staying in SEC with Arkansas
odd man out in the team’s quarterback room while he recovered from a seasonending ankle injury suffered Sept. 14 at Kentucky.
With UF trailing the Wildcats 21-10, fellow redshirt junior Kyle Trask led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback and soon seized control of the Gators’ starting job. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Emory Jones firmly established himself of the team’s backup and is expected to compete for the starting job this spring.
Four-star freshman Anthony Richardson of Gainesville enrolled early and even joined the Gators for some Orange Bowl practices.
The 6-foot-6, 227-pound Franks accounted for 31 touchdowns in 2018 to help the Gators to a 10-3 record and top-10 season-ending ranking during coach Dan Mullen’s first year. On Aug. 24 against Miami, Franks started his third season opener for UF, but his year ended after just three games due to a dislocated and broken right ankle that required major surgery and six months of rehabilitation.
Franks will now enroll immediately Arkansas and participate in spring drills with the Razorbacks, who are coming off a 2-10 season, including a 0-8 mark in the SEC. Following the firing of Chad Morris after two season, Arkansas hired former Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman as head coach.
The Razorbacks have three scholarship quarterbacks — senior Jack Lindsey,
redshirt-sophomore John Stephen Jones and redshirt-freshman KJ Jefferson. Jones is the most experienced of the trio. He has thrown for 106 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions during six career games.