Franklin ready to prove himself as the center of the GT OL
To turn the page and improve on what was obviously a very disappointing season for Georgia Tech, one position group, in particular, has to step up and turn that into a reality.
The position group’s success (or lack thereof) that will make the most difference this season indisputably is the big guys up front on the offensive line.
Weston Franklin, the Yellow Jackets’ sophomore center will be a guy that leads the charge and is an x-factor for that group’s performance.
Last season, Franklin was able to get valuable experience in five games, burning his redshirt a few games after former center Mikey Minihan went down in the Miami game. That specific game showed just how valuable the position is to the o-line as well, with Tech’s offense sputtering after Minihan went down, and this was the main reason for that 33-30 loss.
As a consequence of being thrown into the fire like Franklin was after Minihan went down, he had to face some of the toughest defenses the Jackets saw all year in Notre Dame and UGA. This challenge yielded mistakes that were expected, and Franklin believes he needed them to progress as a player.
“Playing last year towards the end of the season really helped me a lot. [It] gave me a lot of confidence, I knew going in that I was gonna make mistakes. And I really needed those mistakes to help me become a better player,” Franklin said. “It gave me a lot of confidence going into this season, and I think we’re gonna have a really good group I’m ready to go.”
Coming into this season as a young guy still and leader on the offensive line will come with challenges, but Franklin said he is working on his vocal leadership to try and bridge that gap.
“It’s been different for me for sure. I’ve been trying to work on being more of a vocal leader. Like I said in the past that wasn’t really what I was known for, I was more of the quiet guy [that] lead by example. I’m really working on being more of a vocal leader and helping those guys behind me.”
One of the biggest keys to success for Franklin and the rest of the OL is the communication piece of the puzzle. That added work towards leading vocally will help along with simply working it every single day like Franklin says the Jackets have all camp.
“We’re at a great level of communication, [and] we communicate every single play. I mean, everybody sees everything going on with the defense and they are giving us a lot of different looks and a lot of different variations of stuff. We all gotta communicate it very well or we won’t get the play executed. It’s a really big challenge but we accept it and make it work.”
Tech just ended camp with the last scrimmage on Saturday, and while being closer to having a finalized five, OL coach Brent Key is still working on figuring out exactly what that will be.
Franklin added when asked about working with different combos of guys at guard and out wide at tackle during camp that it has helped the group become game ready as a whole.
“It really doesn’t affect me, and I expect whatever group is in there to execute at a high level. Everybody is doing a great job, we’re really rolling a bunch of different guys into different groups trying to get everybody to work together,” Franklin said. “You never know what’s gonna happen in a game. Anybody can get hurt, anybody can lose their helmet or anything like that and a guy has to hop in and play. That’s what we’re really working on.”
Preparation from the off-season and fall camp has Coach Key feeling 100 percent confident in his room's ability to perform well this fall, and Franklin echoed this sentiment when asked about it.
“I have 100 percent confidence in the guys beside me and behind me, we’re ready to go into the season and just go to work. We’re ready for it,” Franklin said.
We will see that confidence get tested and Franklin along with the entire offensive line’s response to adversity when one of the best defensive lines in the country comes to town in the Benz on September 5th.