Pivotal QBs in 2013 – James Franklin
A healthy, consistent James Franklin should elevate Missouri back into a bowl game and could help the Tigers climb the ranks in the SEC East. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
NOTE: This is the 15th and final installment of a 15-part series on 2013′s most pivotal QBs in college football.
Ask any coach about the importance of the quarterback position and he is quick to throw out a tired cliché about quarterbacks getting too much credit and blame.
They will tell you there are 11 guys on the field at all times and each one of them must work together for the team to win.
Coaches know a lot about football. They also know about deflecting pressure from the most important pressure on the field.
How important is the quarterback position? Ask Texas A&M what Johnny Manziel meant to the team in 2012. Ask Auburn about Cam Newton’s worth in 2010. Ask Ohio State after Urban Meyer got a chance to turn around QB Braxton Miller in 2012.
A quarterback might not be everything, but a good one can mask a number of different deficiencies – be it a porous defense, a non-existent run game or erratic special teams.
Teams without a solid quarterback need virtually every other facet of the game to click in order to overcome poor play from the most important position.
This list is designed to spotlight 15 quarterbacks whose play will dictate their teams’ fates. With two exceptions, this list is made up exclusively of established QBs who have been starters for at least half a season.
The carefully chosen term “pivotal” is key here. This is to spotlight teams that could have significant swings based on the position. Players like Manziel and Miller are proven commodities at this point. Florida State has enough surrounding its yet-to-be-named starter – presumably Jameis Winston – to repeat as ACC champ even without great play from the position. Those appearing on this list are opined to have a wider swing.
15. Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech
13. Bryn Renner, North Carolina
12. Clint Trickett/Paul Millard/Ford Childress, West Virginia
11. Connor Halliday, Washington State
10. Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois
6. Andrew Maxwell, Michigan State
2. Max Wittek/Cody Kessler/Max Browne, USC
1. James Franklin, Missouri
It’s easy to forget, but last year at this time it was Missouri – and not Texas A&M – who felt chesty entering the SEC.
Even more ironically, the quarterback position provided Missouri with the optimism and the Aggies with the anxiousness. That’s because the Tigers returned Franklin after a breakout season in 2011. A&M, meanwhile, graduated QB Ryan Tannehill, who went 10th overall in the NFL Draft.
While Missouri’s quarterback situation lacked controversy, the Aggies’ competition went into mid-August, when coach Kevin Sumlin named a nobody on the national scene his starter.
By now, everyone knows how the Texas A&M situation turned out. Johnny Manziel tore through SEC defenses on his way to the 2012 Heisman Trophy.
That fewer know about the 2012 Missouri quarterback situation speaks to how far the program fell in Year 1 in the SEC.
Troubles began in the spring when Franklin suffered a shoulder injury by diving on a fumble during a March practice.
Franklin rehabilitated from shoulder surgery in time to return for August practice. Despite his shoulder not being 100 percent, Franklin played well to start the season.
He even put Missouri in position to beat Georgia in the Tigers’ first SEC game. Franklin’s two TD passes put the Tigers up 17-9 in the third quarter – and 20-17 late in the third – before the Bulldogs awoke and pulled away.
Then, with Georgia leading 27-20, LB Jarvis Jones happened to Franklin. Jones, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, intercepted a Franklin pass and returned it to the Missouri 1-yard line. The Bulldogs scored a touchdown on the next play. Then, three snaps later, Jones forced Franklin to fumble with a blindside hit. Georgia recovered and scored a clinching touchdown to ice the game.
The game itself didn’t ruin the Tigers’ season, though they proceeded to win just four more on their way to a 5-7 record. It did, however, force Franklin’s shoulder issues to resurface.
Franklin missed the next game. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, during a pregame interview, questioned Franklin’s toughness, saying “…he didn’t want to play,” and “(I) was hoping James could play but he didn’t feel like he could do it.” Pinkel later backtracked from his harsh comments but the damage was done.
It especially didn’t help that the Tigers, behind QB2 Corbin Berkstresser, beat Arizona State 24-20.
Franklin returned the following week against South Carolina, but was completely ineffective. He completed 11 passes for 92 yards in the Gamecocks’ 31-10 victory. Worse, Berkstresser led the Tigers to their lone touchdown in garbage time during the fourth quarter.
After Franklin played well in a win over Central Florida, he sprained his knee and had to exit early in a pivotal loss at Vanderbilt and subsequently missed the Alabama massacre.
Franklin’s worst game of the season came a couple weeks later when Missouri’s defense gave then-undefeated Florida as much as it could handle. Led by All-SEC DT Sheldon Richardson, the Tigers shut out the Gators in the first half. Florida managed its two touchdowns after a big play on special teams and an interception of Franklin – his first of three fourth-quarter interceptions.
Though Franklin threw for 236 yards, he did so on just 24-of-51 passing and he threw four interceptions.
A week later, though, Franklin returned to form by throwing four TDs in a win at Tennessee. He had the Tigers in position to beat Syracuse as well before leaving in the fourth quarter with a concussion. The Orange came back to beat Missouri, effectively ending its bowl hopes.
The concussion ultimately kept Franklin out of the season finale against Texas A&M – a 59-29 defeat.
As a sophomore in 2011, Franklin threw for 2,865 yards and 21 TDs (against 11 INTs) and rushing for 981 yards and 15 TDs. Last year he managed just 1,562 passing yards, 10 TDs (against seven INTs) and 122 rushing yards with no TDs.
Franklin’s season of disappointment was more injury-riddled than poor-performance-laced, though.
Pinkel’s Missouri programs have traditionally risen and fallen along with the play of quarterbacks – perhaps more than most. That’s likely because his spread attack demands a quick, accurate passer who can also spread the field to set up a strike-fast, stealthy run game.
It’s no surprise that Pinkel’s best seasons came with QB Chase Daniel at the helm. Daniel is long gone and Franklin doesn’t possess the same skill set. The latter is faster and shiftier and, when healthy, can attack down the field. However, he has not shown the short-game accuracy often associated with Pinkel offenses. Even during Franklin’s strong campaign, he completed 63.3 percent of his passes. In Daniel’s worst season he completed 63.5 percent of his passing attempts and was up over 72 percent as a Heisman Trophy finalist during his senior season.
Of course, Daniel couldn’t freelance with his legs the way a healthy Franklin can.
Franklin had to compete for the starting job during the spring, when he held off Berkstresser (now relegated to QB3 duties) and heralded freshman Maty Mauk. It will be Franklin’s show when what is likely a critical season for Pinkel begins against Murray State.
With a tougher-than-it-looks non-conference schedule, Missouri will need a steady, play-making presence in Franklin.
If Franklin can return to 2011 form, the Tigers can jump out to a 5-0 start heading into a three-game stretch at Georgia and at home against Florida and South Carolina. If he struggles – be it because of injuries or any other reason – Pinkel might be forced to hit the panic button and move on to Mauk.
National championships are rarely-to-never expectations in Columbia, Mo. But bowl games most certainly are. Especially in an offense predicated more than most on quarterback performance, Franklin’s season will tell the tale for Missouri in 2013.