When the inside linebacker from Mt. Airy, Ga. committed to the Sooners in December 2006, hardly anyone outside of his friends and family knew. On his official visit to Norman a year later, Franklin fell in line with 10 other highly ranked prospects.
Even at the Under Armour All-American Game this month, he took a back seat to five-star studs on and off the field.
In short, Franklin didn't receive a lot of individual attention.
Until this week.
As part of his recruiting rounds leading up to Signing Day next Wednesday, OU coach Bob Stoops dropped in on Franklin and his family Tuesday to make sure the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was still solid with the Sooners.
"Everyone knows that if you don't get in-homed visited, you're not very important to them,” Franklin said. "I'd already seen everything (Stoops) had to offer. I guess he wanted to see where I'm coming from.”
And try some Dirty South-style Mexican food, apparently.
"(Brent) Venables told me Stoops liked Mexican, so I took him to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant,” Franklin said. "We just made small talk. I think they wanted me to know I'm valuable.”
As valuable as the four- and five-star prospects littering the OU commitment list this year can be — he's one of just three triple-star recruits out of 20.
Said Franklin: "They told me from the start, ‘We don't care about the star ranking. We know you can play.'”
They've known for a while.
Franklin — the nation's No. 24 inside linebacker, according to Rivals.com — first drew interest from Sooner coaches after sending in a highlight tape from his sophomore season at Habersham Central High.
Even though Franklin didn't rank at the top of his class in the 40-yard dash, OU coaches were impressed by his quickness to the ball. Their scholarship offer — like the recruiting interest that preceded it — arrived earlier than most.
"Venables called me and said, ‘You're the best linebacker I've seen tape on,'” said Franklin, who logged 128 tackles and forced three fumbles as a senior. "For one, it told me how serious he was. He didn't think I was just an alright, three-star player that maybe could play and maybe couldn't.”
From that point, Franklin's loyalty to Oklahoma never waned. Wake Forest came calling. Then Georgia Tech. Then Georgia.
To hear his father tell it, outside interest mattered little. Franklin wanted to be a Sooner.
"Daniel's been an OU kid all the way,” Mike Franklin said. "He's qualified and ready to go. He'll be on campus June 2, and he's excited about it.”
For a time, Franklin was the only linebacker committed to the Sooners. Miami got its hooks in five-star Arthur Brown. Colorado snagged standout Lynn Katoa. Michigan lured away OU commit Taylor Hill.
Only Franklin stayed put.
"I want to compete for a championship,” Franklin said. "Not a lot of schools are in that position year in and year out.”
This week, the Sooners received commitments from junior-college LBs Mike Balogun and J.R. Bryant, seemingly rendering Franklin to a face in the crowd once again.
But with a well-earned chip on his shoulder, this three-star recruit from the Peach State is looking to make a statement.
If Stoops and Venebles are impressed, so am I. No one much heard of Sam Bradford before he showed up and out- performed everyone else. Same with Austin English. Time will tell. Star rankings are ofter misleading in on the field actual production. Hers' hoping Mr. Franklin keeps that chip and determination to be the best. I believe.
Bo in Cincinnati
The kid has got to be a player. If the Sooners can lure him away fro UGA that is saying something. UGA is to Georgia like the Sooners are to Okla. Seems like everyone there has a little ceramic UGA on their fireplace and bleed Red there. Lets dont forget how good some of the smaller linebackers can play and HIT. Low center of gravity, explosive from the hips. I bet he will fit in just fine.
With that attitude, it wouldn't surprise me to see his name on the Butkis Award somewhere in the future. Glad to have a guy like this associated with OU. Can't wait to see him play.
Boomer Sooner!!!
I know that everyone seems to love and admire the heralded five star recruits coming into campus each fall. We hear the stories of of reggie bush-like Demarco Murray, and how Rhett Bomar is the next troy aikmen. Sometime they live up to the hype, can anyone say Adrian Peterson and Tommie Harris?, and then alot of times they fall into the crowd and are forgotten. I really love to see the small time guys or the average run of the mil players come in and turn out to be dynamite talent. I'm no scout or pretend to know a ton about recruiting, but i'll be willing to bet that players like franklin will come to work each day with their hard hat and lunch pale and build the foundation of national championship caliber teams. It'll be fun to see what comes of this.
10
Bo in Cincinnati
Boomer Sooner!!!
Loyalty and desire along with talent!
Glad to have you with the team!