Florida football: Feleipe Franks likely out for season with dislocated ankle

Football

0

Image Credit: Courtney Culbreath/UAA

Saturday night did not start off well for quarterback Feleipe Franks on the field, and it ended even worse for him when he left it on an injury cart in the third quarter. Franks, the redshirt junior starter for the No. 9 Florida Gators, was folded in half backwards while attempting to pick up a fourth-and-1 near midfield, seriously injuring his lower right leg.

Head coach Dan Mullen later diagnosed it as a dislocated ankle and said he believes Franks will be out for the remainder of the 2019 season.

“They feel pretty certain that there’s a break with the dislocation, so he’ll be out for the year,” Mullen said after the game.

Immediately grabbing the turf and screaming in pain, Franks was tended to by coaches, trainers and his teammates. A large air cast was placed around his lower right leg, and he was loaded onto a cart while the entire Gators football team surrounded him to wish him well. Franks left with tears in his eyes.

Florida trailed 21-10 to the Kentucky Wildcats at the time of Franks’ departure.

“I went out there, and I was with him [on the field],” Mullen said. “We all love him, and we’re all there for him, and he’ll be alright. I think it shows what he means to the team and what the team thinks of him as a leader of the team and the type of guy he is and how hard he works [for the team to go surround him]. It shows a lot about him and shows me how much respect the team has for his leadership and the love they have him. This a pretty close team, and these guys work hard for these things. It’s a tragedy when that happens.”

The Gators looked to redshirt junior Kyle Trask to take over for Franks, while redshirt freshman Emory Jones remained on the bench.

Trask completed 9-of-13 passes for 126 yards with a 4-yard rushing touchdown in the game, leading Florida to 19 straight points in a tremendous come-from-behind effort that saw the Gators top the Wildcats 29-21 in Lexington, Kentucky.