At last year’s media day, then-freshman Zaire Franklin nearly walked through the middle of the first press conference by accident.

“I don’t know if you guys remember that, but I do,” Franklin said.

One year later, he was the one doing the talking.

At the Orange’s opening press conference on Saturday, head coach Scott Shafer and senior quarterback Terrel Hunt addressed the media first. Then it was Franklin’s turn to take the podium, a role that he said he’s dreamed about. Franklin also represented SU at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s media day in July, but with the first practice of training camp on Sunday, he’s beginning to turn his focus to the field.

That’s where the sophomore middle linebacker said leadership roles develop. Last season, Franklin looked up to senior linebackers Dyshawn Davis and Cameron Lynch, who both served as spokesmen for the defense and finished as SU’s top two tacklers.

“I’m just trying to improve day by day and be the best version of Zaire as I can,” Franklin said, “And hopefully when it’s all said and done, I can be put in the same category as those guys.”

Despite starting only three games, he finished as the sixth-leading tackler with 44 total and heads into training camp as Syracuse’s most relied upon linebacker.

In the offseason, Franklin worked on improving his strength. Toward the end of last year, it was tough for him playing against power-running teams like Pittsburgh and Boston College, he said.

“He’s 19 years old but he speaks like a 25-year-old,” Shafer said. “… It’s that ‘it’ factor that you can’t develop or manufacture that as a coach either. Young men either have it or they don’t have it and he has it, the ‘it’ factor.”

Shafer said he’s excited to see what Franklin can do in the next three years, but immediately followed that by saying at this point, it’s about the present.

With training camp set to begin on Sunday, Franklin finds himself embracing his new position.

“It’s definitely surreal,” Franklin said. “It still feels a little weird just to be out here but it’s something I take full-force.”

Published on August 8, 2015 at 1:52 pm

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