SI All-American Candidate Justin Franklin Highlights and Evaluation

Justin Franklin is a wide receiver and quarterback from Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Ga. Franklin is an SI All-American candidate.

Prospect: Justin Franklin
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-9, 160 pounds
Position: Wide Receiver and Quarterback
School: Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County
Schools of Interest: Akron, Western Kentucky, Minnesota, Troy, Kansas, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, Kent State and UAB, among others.
Projected Position: Wide Receiver 

Frame: Small and slender. Narrow across shoulders and chest. Skinny, tightly-wound thighs and calves. Developing trunk. Ample room for mass and muscle, but limited overall growth potential. 

Athleticism: Excellent burst and acceleration. Rare long speed; imminent home-run threat in open field. Extremely quick feet with innate sense of wiggle. Lacks play strength. Natural hand-eye coordination. 

Instincts: Dynamic ball-carrier. Needs small seam to go the distance and can make multiple defenders miss on same play. Tracks ball well downfield; capable of going outside body for difficult catches. 

Polish: Mostly played running quarterback for Douglas County in 2019. Raw route-runner, but shows potential; sells fakes on screens and flashes nuance breaking off routes downfield. Must add weight, get stronger. Not a blocker. 

Bottom Line: Franklin projects as a dangerous return man and gadget player, but shows enough route-running promise to potentially emerge as a reliable, versatile slot receiver. He’ll be an impact player either way, likely contributing early as a return specialist.