AuburnFamilyNews.com: Why John Franklin III Needs to Be Auburn's Starting QB from Day 1

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Why John Franklin III Needs to Be Auburn's Starting QB from Day 1

"We're going to name somebody. Hopefully sooner rather than later once we start fall camp."

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said in May at the College Football Hall of Fame that he was going to stay true to his roots and not let his three-man quarterback battle linger into the season.

That race—which features last season's opening day starter Jeremy Johnson, last season's backup-turned-starter and former Elite 11 MVP Sean White and former junior college backup John Franklin III—was three-wide heading into the back stretch of the offseason when spring practice ended.

Once fall camp starts, somebody needs to separate from the pack.

It needs to be Franklin.

The former Florida State and East Mississippi Community College signal-caller threw for 733 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 451 and nine scores in a backup role behind Wyatt Roberts for EMCC last year, and he has the jets to be a major weapon in an offense that needs a dynamic running threat from the quarterback spot.

Malzahn has had the most success as a college head or assistant coach when he gets running production from his quarterback.

Since taking over as Auburn's offensive coordinator prior to the 2009 season, Malzahn is 44-10 (.815) in seasons in which his primary starting quarterback rushes for more than 400 yards on the season. In seasons in which the primary starting quarterback doesn't top 400 rushing yards, Malzahn is 23-16 (.590).

Even in 2014, when Auburn finished 8-5 with a mobile quarterback in Nick Marshall taking the snaps, it was in the thick of the national title race before the wheels came off in an early November home loss to Texas A&M.

Auburn needs wheels under center, and Franklin can provide those wheels, as he showed on Twitter earlier this spring when Auburn's players ran the 40-yard dash:

The biggest concern with Franklin is his weight.

He's listed at 186 right now, but said after the spring game that he wants to bulk up just a bit prior to the season in order to take the pounding that comes with being a dual-threat quarterback in the SEC.

"I got here [in January], and I was 170," Franklin said after the spring game. "So I've put on about about 15 pounds. I'm going to continue to gain weight. That's not a real concern of mine. The one thing I have [that others don't] is that I can run away from people.

"I want to get within 190 to 195. This is the biggest I've ever been. As long as I keep my speed and am able to move with the weight, I'm fine. It's going to come. I'm not really worried about it too much. I've been small all of my life, and it hasn't bothered me yet."

If Franklin can get to 195 pounds and keep that 4.28 speed—which was recorded after spring practice concluded—intact, he should be the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers in the season opener against Clemson and beyond.

There's a massive difference between 195 pounds and 170. While Franklin's ideal weight isn't close to where Marshall was when he took the snaps on the Plains (he was a well-put-together 210), it's still big enough for Franklin to be effective as long as he learns how to protect himself when danger is closing in.

As ESPN Insider's Phil Steele told The Opening Drive on WJOX in Birmingham, Malzahn needs to roll the dice and go with Franklin—the least experienced of the trio contending for the job:

Johnson doesn't have Franklin's wheels and isn't the bruiser that former Tiger Cam Newton was between the tackles. White is a prototypical dropback passer who, while talented, isn't a threat to take off on the ground.

What's more, it's imperative for the Tigers to get off to a great start in the opener versus Clemson and in Week 3 against Texas A&M. Auburn's offense is essentially an open book with Johnson or White at the helm. By going old-school and using a similar offense to the one Malzahn was successful with in 2013 and 2014 with a mobile quarterback, it will be difficult for the early-season opponents to properly prepare for what Franklin brings to the table.

The element of the unknown at quarterback can work in Malzahn's favor.

Franklin is Auburn's best shot to be an SEC West contender thanks to his playmaking ability on the edge, which will serve as a complement to the ability of running back Jovon Robinson to soften up defenses between the tackles. 

If Auburn wants to make a big splash, Malzahn needs to go with Franklin.

 

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

Read more Auburn Football news on BleacherReport.com



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