Inside The Huskies

Huskies Offer Scholarship to California JC Running Back

Mike Franklin from Contra Costa College receives weekend proposal from UW.

Dan Raley

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While Emeka Megwa checked out of the University of Washington football program this weekend, the Huskies offered scholarship to Mike Franklin, another power back from the California junior-college ranks.

An Alabama native, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Franklin rushed for 898 yards and 8 touchdowns in eight games, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, for a 10-1 Contra Costa College team in San Pablo. 

He also caught a dozen passes for another 133 yards, showing the versatility that Husky coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff require in a focus back. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining. 

"I'm very excited about the offer because I've been working really hard this offseason and everything is paying off," Franklin said in a direct message. "Talking to coach [Ryan] Grubb and coach [Lee] Marks at the San Jose camp, it felt like family."

Mike Franklin of Contra Costa College looks for daylight.
Mike Franklin has a UW offer after a productive season at Contra Costa College.  / Franklin

Franklin, named first-team JC all-state and all-conference, was part of a high-powered Toros backfield that included quarterback Jake Jensen, who threw for 1,970 yards and 22 scores and is committed to USC. Jensen originally began his career at BYU.

The big Contra Costa back also holds a scholarship offer from San Jose State, which was extended to him in early May. He earlier was offered by Division II Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee.

Franklin provided rushing outings of 133, 112, 160 and 190 yards for Contra Costa, which sits north of Berkeley. He displayed a nice cutting ability, but didn't shy from trying to run over opposing tacklers. 

As his social-media posts demonstrated, he doesn't short himself with weight-room workouts. He posted about completing a 545-pound squat, which is impressive for any back.

Contra Costa didn't play a 2020 football season because of the pandemic. He ended up there after a friend suggested he call the coach. 

"Yes the pandemic was hard and it wiped my season out because I was trying to find a school and couldn't," Franklin said. "So I couldn't play anywhere in 2020. I got to CCC in 2021."

Franklin played for a pair of Alabama high schools located east of Mobile on the edge of Mobile Bay. He started two years for Daphne High before spending his senior season at Spanish Fort in 2018. 

Mike Jackson was named California JC all-state at running back.
Mike Franklin had four 100-yard rushing games.  / CCC

He dealt with injuries that forced him to miss some time for Spanish Fort, which finished 11-2 and was ranked as high as No. 2 at Alabama's 6A level. 

Back then, Franklin received a scholarship offer from Memphis as a Daphne sophomore and had recruiting contacts with local schools Samford and South Alabama.

Curiously, the Husky target has been retweeting posts for a couple of years by Bookie Radley-Hiles, the former UW nickelback now an NFL free agent signed by the Cincinnati Bengals.

 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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