QB Franks out at Florida, opts for NFL or transfer
Kyle Trask’s third touchdown of the first half lands in the hands of Van Jefferson on the 13-yard score. (0:40)
Quarterback Feleipe Franks announced on his Instagram account Sunday that he will not return to the Florida Gators next season.
Instead, Franks said he plans to explore his options of entering the NFL draft or transferring and playing his final season at another school. Franks, who would be a redshirt junior next season, thanked the Florida coaches, administrators, players and fans.
“My heart will always be a part of the Gator family,” Franks wrote, adding that “everybody inside the football facility has always had my back no matter what.”
Franks opened this season as Florida’s starting quarterback, but suffered a dislocated ankle that included a fracture in the third game against Kentucky and missed the remainder of the season. He was replaced by Kyle Trask, who ended the season as the Gators’ starting quarterback.
In two years under coach Dan Mullen, Franks passed for 3,155 yards with 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 61.5% of his passes. Franks suffered through a rocky redshirt freshman season in 2017 that triggered some nasty social media backlash from fans. He arrived at Florida in 2016 as an ESPN 300 prospect and ranked as the No. 5 pocket passer in the country.