Former Vashon High and University of Missouri football standout Will Franklin will realize his dream to play in the National Football League and he won’t have to leave the Show-Me State.
Franklin was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the NFL Draft last Sunday. Franklin was a high school standout at Beaumont and Vashon High Schools, then moved West, where he became a vital part of Mizzou’s transformation into a Big XII champion and national championship contender. He will now move a little further West to begin his professional career in Kansas City.
In his college career, Franklin had 143 receptions for 2,125 yards, which is fourth on Mizzou’s career list. He didn’t have as big a senior year because of the emergence of super freshman Jeremy Maclin and two big-time tight ends in Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman as well, but Franklin showed a professional attitude despite not posting huge numbers in Mizzou’s magical season in 2007. The 6’2” 205-pound Franklin did have a solid senior season and was impressive at the NFL combine when he posted a time of 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
The last player from Vashon to play in the NFL was Macler Cody, who was a star in the Canadian Football League before hooking on with the St. Louis Cardinals. Another Vashon alum who played in the league was speedster Butler By’note, who also played at Ohio State.
Congratulations Will. Job well done.
Speaking of the Chiefs, head coach Herman Edwards must have been doing back-flips when he realized that LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was going to drop down to the No. 5 pick, where the Chiefs grabbed him with glee. Edwards hasn’t had a gift fall in his lap like that since 1979 when he picked up Joe Picarcik’s ill-fated handoff attempt and ran it in for a touchdown to give his Eagles’ an improbable victory over the New York Giants in one of the most bone-headed plays in NFL history.
Meet me at meet
Some of the nation’s top track and field athletes will be here later this month to compete at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championships. The meet will be held at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville from May 24-26. The host schools are Lindenwood, Missouri Baptist and McKendree. The NAIA national championships will be held at SIUE in 2008 and 2009. I will serve as Master of Ceremonies at the Hall of Fame luncheon, which preceeds the meet, on Wednesday, May 23.
Hill new AD
Congratulations to Malcolm Hill, who was just been named the new Athletic Director at Normandy High. Hill spent the past 10 years as the Vikings’ boys basketball coach, where he posted a record of 175-80. Hill took over a program that had posted back-to-back 8-18 seasons and made Normandy one of the area’s most successful programs. He led the Vikings to four Suburban North Conference titles, one Suburban East title and one district championship. Hill also developed the talents of Division I athletes Corey Simms (Nebraska), Anthony James (Northern Iowa) and top Division II performers Johnathan Griffin (UMSL) and Arthur Clair (Missouri Southern). In Hill’s last season, he led the Vikings to a 20-6 record, including the championship of the Normandy Holiday Tournament, the school’s first in 32 years.
Sanjay to Central
Former Jennings High basketball standout Sanjay Watts has signed a letter of intent to play at Central Missouri State. Watts played his sophomore year at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., where he was an All-NJCAA Region 16 selection. Watts averaged 22 points a game as a sophomore. He played his freshman year at Cowley County J.C. in Kansas, where he averaged 16.3 points a game.
NBA surprise
Major kudos have to go to the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers for what they have been able to accomplish in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Both teams are very young, but they have been battling long odds in playing the heavily favored Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons on even terms for the first four games. I don’t think ANYBODY was expecting this development.
ESL triple jumper
A tip of the cap to former East St. Louis High standout Stephon Harden, who finished second in the triple jump at last weekend’s Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Harden jumped 50 feet 4 inches to finish second in the college men’s division. Harden is a senior at Chicago State University.