He is already turning the heads of college football coaches, and he hasn’t even made it to high school yet. Weston Franklin is an offensive and defensive lineman for Arthur Williams Middle School in Jesup. Known as “The Hulk” to friends, the eighth-grader already stands at 6’1.5” and weighs 225 pounds, towering over teammates and opponents alike.
“Most people think he is just a big, well-proportioned lineman,” AWMS football coach Paul Rothwell said. “What they fail to realize is he is an athletic kid that excels in both basketball and baseball. His footwork is some the best I have been around.”
Franklin’s awards for playing football are adding up. He was the MVP of the 2016 Future Stars Combine in Warner Robins and named to Football University’s All-Top Gun class of 2021 team. “There was some of the top talent in the country there; 48 different states were represented,” Franklin said. He has been invited to attend the Hotbed All-America game later this year in Florida and to the Diamond All-America game in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“We traveled from Tampa to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio,” said father, Norman Franklin. The elder Franklin flew with his son to Ohio to attend The Show at the Pro Football Hall of Fame where only 100 eighth-graders were invited. “And we visited the Ohio State University,” Weston Franklin said. “Lots of history in those two places, so that was cool.”
Although he plays primarily as a left tackle on offense and tackle on defense, he plays wherever \ Rothwell needs him at Arthur Williams Middle School. He even played center and long snapper at the Future Stars game at the IMG Academy.
“Weston is both a polite – except when he is wearing his helmet – courteous, well behaved giant,” Rothwell said. “He is a better person than he is a football player, which makes him a very good person. I love his demeanor and approach to school and practice.”
Franklin loves every snap of playing football and has taken every opportunity to play since the Pee Wee Leagues. He dreams of one day earning a scholarship to play football at a Division I school and, possibly, professionally in the NFL like Wayne County natives T.Y. McGill and Tre Jackson.
His first big crowd roar came while he was playing defense. Franklin had the angle on a running back and was chasing him across the field. “A teammate slowed him up, and when he did, I clobbered him,” Franklin said. “The ball went flying, my teammate recovered the fumble, and the crowd went wild.”
Franklin said he likes the contact of playing football and recalled the first time he pancaked an opposing defender. It was an unusual situation for him because his opponent was heavier than him, which is a rare occurrence. “This kid apparently had never been pancaked, but when I was on top of him on the ground, he said, ‘You’re holding,’” Franklin said. “I thought that was pretty funny. I told him, ‘This is not holding. This is football, and you’re right where you should be.’”
Along with football, Franklin plays pitcher and third base for the baseball team and center on the basketball team. “I play year round these days,” Franklin said. “I believe each sport helps me develop in different areas, and that makes me a better overall athlete.” Franklin also spends time in the weight room at Arthur Williams Middle School, where the staff is preparing him for the transition to high school. If all goes well, he could see playing time as a freshman next year with the Wayne County Yellow Jackets. “With our weight room workouts that he has been a part of for three years now, he may have a shot at playing as a freshman, but we will see,” Rothwell said.
Weston Franklin is the son of Norman and Charlotte Franklin and holds a solid 92.1 GPA in the classroom. His favorite subject is Language Arts. “I love to read,” Franklin said. He would like to become a physical trainer or physical education teacher and possibly coach one day. He credited his family for helping him through the years. “They always support me and push me to be my best,” Franklin said. He also acknowledged his current and former coaches who have made him a better player, but most of all he thanked God for blessing him with his ability and talent.
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Getting On The Radar Early
Written by Rob Asbell
Photo by Jeffrey Griffith
