University of Missouri QB Franklin to face father's alma mater

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- James Franklin's father was a standout tight end at Oklahoma before going to the NFL.

Franklin lost interest in following in Willie Franklin's footsteps. The Sooners recruited him as an athlete, while Missouri wanted him to play quarterback. That sounded good to him.

"With him, it was quarterback the whole way," Missouri offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Dave Yost said. "He's smooth and athletic, but I don't know what else he'd play here if he didn't play quarterback because he's not vertically the fastest guy out there."

Franklin will try to beat his father's alma mater Saturday night and help the Tigers (2-1) knock off the nation's top-ranked team for a second consecutive year.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound sophomore from Corinth, Texas, said he wasn't an Oklahoma fan growing up, although he remembers watching some games on TV with his father. Forget the family ties, though.

"I know a lot of people ask me about that, but it really doesn't even matter," Franklin said. "It really hasn't crossed my mind like, 'Oh, this is where my dad played, I've got to make sure we beat them.'"

Franklin scored a late touchdown in the Tigers' 36-27 victory in Columbia, Mo., last year, a triumph so stirring that students hauled off one of the goal posts to a local tavern. Missouri is a three-touchdown underdog to do it again this year.

Instead of perhaps playing safety at Oklahoma, Franklin follows Blaine Gabbert, the 10th overall pick by the Jaguars who is set to make his first NFL start this weekend. He's a more dangerous running threat but hasn't taken off much yet while executing a spread offense. He's completed 66 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and an interception.

One of his top targets, junior wide receiver T.J. Moe, was a high school quarterback recruited by Missouri as an athlete. Yost said Moe committed thinking he'd play safety, but also told coaches he wanted to catch passes.

"He said, 'I'd like to get the ball in my hands,'" Yost said. "He's a natural and such a gifted guy with the football, stopping and starting and changing directions."

Gabbert was a quarterback all the way, and so was Chase Daniel, now the backup for the New Orleans Saints. Brad Smith, the star quarterback of Tigers coach Gary Pinkel's first seasons at Missouri, was viewed as a safety by other colleges.

Smith has found a long-term home in the NFL as an athlete, serving as a dangerous wide receiver/running back/return man.

Franklin was rated one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school after passing for 2,360 yards, rushing for 1,282 yards and accounting for 41 touchdowns as a senior. He flashed promise in several cameos last season that led to him winning the job this spring over Gabbert's younger brother, Tyler.

Franklin is coming off an easy day, a 69-0 thrashing of lower-division Western Illinois on Saturday in which he passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns in one half while Missouri cruised to a 42-0 cushion.

It's a huge jump in class this week against the Sooners (2-0).

Pinkel doesn't think the atmosphere in Norman, Okla., will bother Franklin, who got a taste of hostility in an overtime loss at Arizona State two weeks ago.

"The atmosphere was really crazy, and it kind of got us ready," Franklin said. "It was a pretty brutal environment. Some fans saying some things."

The coaches saw the calm through it all.

"He's intense, but he's expressionless," Pinkel said. "Bombs are going off and he's looking at you like everything's fine and dandy. I like that confident poise that he has."