AUBURN, Ala. – John Franklin III arrived on the scene at Auburn in 2016 with high expectations. Most thought he would give the Tigers the spark they needed at quarterback to recreate the magic of the 2013 season. His tenure on the Plains did not go as planned.
On Tuesday, Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn announced Franklin, a former star on the Netflix series ‘Last Chance U’, will leave the program as a grad-transfer and be eligible to play immediately.
“John Franklin came to me expressing his desire for the chance to play more and get closer to home. He has made the decision to play elsewhere this season as a graduate transfer,” Malzahn said in a statement. “John has been an outstanding young man during his time here and leaves Auburn with a degree. We wish John nothing but the best and thank him for his time at Auburn.”
Just before the transfer was announced, Franklin released this tweet.
Your happiness is all that you have in this world. Never settle for anything less ??
— John Franklin III (@jf3_5) August 15, 2017
The next stop in Franklin’s journey will be his fourth in college. A highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, Franklin signed his national letter of intent to play for the Florida State Seminoles. Franklin transferred to East-Mississippi Community College in 2015 where he played sparingly. He received an offer from Auburn after leading EMCC to a blowout win after the starter went down while, then Auburn Offensive Coordinator, Rhett Lashlee was on site.
After arriving to Auburn, Franklin did not win the starting job, but took quite a few snaps as the Auburn quarterback in 2016. He finished the season with 430 rushing yards and 204 passing yards. He was recently moved to receiver where the Tigers had high hopes for the speedy and agile Franklin.
Some local and national media believe Franklin could land at Florida Atlantic where former Alabama Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin just became head coach.
Jeremy Law for SylacaugaNews.com | © 2017, SylacaugaNews.com/Marble City Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.