Georgia Tech pulled off the upset against ACC rival Florida State in the Week 0 feature game in Dublin, Ireland. There were a lot of reasons for the Yellow Jackets coming out on top, but one who should not be overlooked is center Weston Franklin.
No. 72 showed off some impressive, translateable skills in the pivot against a highly-touted Seminoles defensive line. Franklin did it almost from the first snap.
On Georgia Tech’s third offensive play, Franklin showed discipline in not giving away a screen pass to the right side. A lot of times, centers will leave early or lean out and give the play away. Not Franklin, who then showed a nice burst to get out and got a shoulder into a pursuit defender, sending him sprawling to the turf.
On the very next play, Franklin again showed his quick feet. A run play to the left called for Franklin to climb to his right and pin the backside DE, getting through the DT on the way. Mission accomplished. The Yellow Jackets capped off that opening drive with a short TD run right behind Franklin, who jarred well-regarded Seminoles DT Darrell Jackson clean out of the hole.
There’s a lot of backside seal responsibility for Franklin in Georgia Tech’s running scheme. They pull the guards quite a bit, leaving Franklin to step and pick up behind them. For the most part, No. 72 was quick in engaging and providing a little pop. He will get torqued up a bit when trying to stand his ground; on a couple of designed QB runs on Georgia Tech’s second drive, Franklin got jolted upright and twisted his back while trying to maintain leverage. It (mostly) worked, but that was as much about Florida State’s DTs just not being very dynamic in separating off Franklin’s block.
The biggest knock I took from watching Franklin against Florida State was that his hands weren’t always low enough or active enough when trying to generate power. He was much more effective on the move in showing power, in part because his hands were more consistently in a place of power against the defender.
Franklin made the Senior Bowl watch list before the season, and it’s easy to see why. He has some skills and some traits that captured my attention, and I want to see more of No. 72.