One of the stars of season one of Netflix’s Last Chance U, John Franklin III was a former high school standout who started his collegiate career at Florida State. A lack of playing time led to JF3’s transfer to East Mississippi State Community College.
After a year there, Franklin committed to the Tigers. Auburn was just finishing up the Nick Marshall era and Franklin simulated Marshall for FSU prior to their National Championship game against Auburn in 2014.
For that reason alone, you can understand why Auburn fans were excited about the possibilities with Franklin. After all, the Tigers offense excelled with a true dual-threat under center and JF3 was one of the fastest quarterbacks in the entire nation.
However, Franklin was beaten out by both Sean White and Jeremy Johnson and didn’t get much playing time.
At the same time, Franklin definitely did show potential when he hit the field but was a bit too inconsistent and underdeveloped as a passer.
Franklin started one game while at Auburn but he threw just four passes that game and was benched again in favor of White.
For the entire 2016 season, Franklin completed 14 of his 26 pass attempts for 204 yards and one touchdown while also adding 46 carries for 430 yards and two TDs on the ground.
After it was pretty clear Franklin wasn’t going to start at Auburn, he transferred to Florida Atlantic where he played both QB and WR.
Franklin then switched to cornerback after college and has played both CB and WR with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, primarily in practice squad roles.