Missouri quarterback James Franklin
By Brett Hudson
“Just to stay healthy,” was the first thing out of Missouri quarterback James Franklin’s mouth when he was asked of his goals for the 2013 season. No talk of wins and losses, beating rivals. Just make it through another season.
He spoke as if just making it through to the next game is an accomplishment. This is not The Hunger Games.
To be fair, it takes an especially ill-advised player or coach to call your record or call out future opponents at SEC Media Days, when the entire Southeast would know in five minutes, maximum, if not closer to 30 seconds.
But you’ve got more than that, right? Even Will Muschamp was not shy about BCS bowls being the No. 1 priority.
Luckily someone around the Missouri football program has winning as the No. 1 priority: the fans. The same ones who showed Franklin unparalleled scrutiny underneath the 5-7 2012 season.
“Actually, probably the rudest fans I experienced were Mizzou’s,” he said while taking a few pauses in a feeble effort to laugh his way through the hurtful sentence. “I try not to listen to those things, but I heard some pretty hurtful comments from my fans.
“It’s football. Every one can say what they want to.”
He has a point. People like Bernie Bytes, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, can say what they want when asking if Missouri football has stalled out and if Gary Pinkel has gone stale.
And they do just that. Often, in your case.
When asked to describe his receiving corps, Franklin deatiled some of his receivers are jump-ball specialists, while others are speed demons, then the type that “just like to catching it and getting down every time.”
My memory is foggy of the first two, but that third one came up a lot. What about a fourth? The one that did not catch the ball at all, leading to Franklin’s 59.4 completion percentage, and even worse for his backup, Corbin Berkstresser, with 49.7.
Hey, at least he is having fun with it and taking questions to a humorous end when the opportunity gives itself, like when asked to compare last year’s offensive coordinator, David Yost, to the new man in town, Josh Henson.
“Coach Yost had long, blonde hair and Coach Henson has black hair,” Franklin said to a chorus of laughter. “Coach Yost was a little taller, too.”
Well, if you can’t laugh at yourself.
