Samuel Lamar Franklin (born February 2, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Early life and high school

Franklin grew up in

Crystal River, Florida Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,108 in the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census estimates of 2018, the city had a population of 3,162. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self p ...

and attended

Citrus High School Citrus High School (CHS) is a public high school in the town of Inverness, Florida, United States. A part of the Citrus County School District, Citrus High currently offers a four-year curriculum in grades 9-12 and currently has an enrollment o ...

, where he played wide receiver, safety and linebacker on the football team. He was recruited by the University of Massachusetts, but failed to qualify academically. He enrolled at East Coast Prep, where he played alongside future Panthers teammate

Myles Hartsfield Myles Hartsfield (born August 5, 1997) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Ole Miss. Early life and high school Hartsfield grew up in Sayreville, New Jersey and attended Sayreville War Memorial High ...

for a post-graduate year to improve his grades and test scores.

College career

Franklin was a member of the Temple Owls for four seasons, starting as a defensive back before moving to linebacker. As a senior, he was the team's third-leading tackler with 68 tackles and had 7.5 tackles for loss. Franklin finished his collegiate career with 194 tackles including 24 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions, 10 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in 53 games played.

Professional career

Franklin was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2020, and made the team out of training camp. On October 18, Franklin had his first meaningful action against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

when

Juston Burris Juston Burris (born August 4, 1993) is an American football safety for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL D ...

was injured, making two tackles. In Week 9 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, Franklin recorded his first career sack on

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...

during the 33–31 loss.

References

External links

Temple Owls bioCarolina Panthers bio
1996 births Living people American football linebackers Temple Owls football players Carolina Panthers players Players of American football from Florida American football safeties {{Linebacker-1990s-stub