CAMPUS NOTES More college football from Wednesday
FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE, FLA.
Feleipe Franks will make his first career start on one of college football’s biggest stages. No. 17 Florida named Franks its starting quarterback Wednesday, ending a monthlong competition that also included incumbent Luke Del Rio and Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire. Franks, a redshirt freshman from a small town south of Tallahassee, will make his debut Saturday against 11th-ranked Michigan in Arlington, Texas, and in front of about 100,000 fans. “That kind of shows what you’re made of,” coach Jim McElwain said. “I think the big thing in that, he’s going to be excited, there’s no doubt about it. But in that big stage, the guy’s got a big arm, too. You know what, he’s been in those. He’s played in state championship games. He’ll be ready to go.”
Franks ended spring practice as the clear-cut starter, but McElwain opened the competition once Del Rio and Zaire joined the mix. Del Rio, the son of Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, started six games last season before injuring his shoulder in November. He had offseason surgery and missed the entire spring. Zaire enrolled at Florida in June and still could see playing time in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
MICHIGAN
ANN ARBOR, MICH.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has announced his team’s football roster via his Twitter account. The roster drew interest mostly because the school waited so long before releasing it. NJ Advance Media submitted a Freedom Of Information request in an effort to obtain it, and Harbaugh eventually said that with final tryouts for the team starting no earlier than Aug. 28, the roster would be publicized Aug. 30. NJ Advance Media recently said the school had released the names of football players on athletic scholarship. Then around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the roster appeared on Harbaugh’s Twitter account. No. 11 Michigan opens the season Saturday against No. 17 Florida in Texas.
TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE, TENN.
Tennessee will be missing its projected starting left tackle and its top linebacker Monday when the 25th-ranked Volunteers open the season against Georgia Tech.
Volunteers coach Butch Jones announced Wednesday that offensive tackle Drew Richmond will be suspended for the Georgia Tech game due to a violation of team rules and that linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. will miss the start of the season with a knee injury. Jones said Richmond would be available for Tennessee’s Sept. 9 game with Indiana State “if he does everything that he needs to do.” Jones said Kirkland underwent meniscus surgery Wednesday and there’s no timetable yet for the junior’s potential return. Kirkland is considered one of Tennessee’s best defensive players, though injuries have limited him for the last year. He made 45 tackles last season and played only eight games due to a high ankle sprain. Richmond made six starts last season and was Tennessee’s first-team left tackle by the end of the year.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE
JOHNSON CITY, TENN.
East Tennessee State has dismissed defensive back Jackson Trawick from its team after his arrest on a statutory rape charge. ETSU police say a 17-year-old told them she met Trawick at a Starbucks on Monday and went back to his apartment to watch movies when she says he raped her. Trawick told police that he and the young woman first made contact via the dating app Tinder and talked for a few days before meeting at Starbucks and later had consensual sex. Police told Trawick he was being charged with statutory rape because he is 23 years old and she is 17. Trawick was transported to the Washington County Detention Center without incident, according to the police report. He was released on $10,000 bond. The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse. “Any sexual misconduct will not be tolerated and is a violation of our athletic department’s policies and values,” ETSU athletic director Richard Sander said in a statement. “The player in question has been removed and is no long a member of our program.” Trawick redshirted last season after transferring from Wingate.
Associated Press