Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks (born January 6, 1978) is an American former professional

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player who was a

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for nine seasons in the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

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, earning first-team

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honors in 1999. He was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the first round of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

with the 14th overall pick.

Early life

Bubba attended Big Spring High School in

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 in Texas, Interstate 20. The population was 26,144 at the ...

and was an all state tight end there.

College career

Franks played collegiate football at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, where he was known for his extraordinary one-handed receptions. He redshirted in 1996, but was very productive in the 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons, setting the University of Miami record for most touchdowns by a tight end, with 12. He was also named to the All-Big East team twice and was named as an All-American in 1999. Franks waived his final year of eligibility to enter the

and was selected in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, by the

Awards and honors

* Second-team All-

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

(1997) * ''

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'' Freshman All-American (1997) * First-team All-Big East (1998–1999) * First-team

(1999)

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

After a promising but unspectacular

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, he reached the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

his second NFL year, during which he caught nine

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

passes in the 2001 season. Franks went to three Pro Bowls altogether (2001, 2002, and 2003). He missed much of the 2005 season with knee and neck injuries. On February 20, 2008, Franks was released by the Packers after an unproductive and injury-plagued 2007 season in which he was demoted to second string tight end behind Donald Lee.

New York Jets

On March 16, 2008, Franks agreed to terms with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

on a one-year deal. Franks was released on July 13, 2009.

NFL statistics

Personal

Has a wife, Raquel, son, Daniel II, and daughter, Sienna.

References

External links

New York Jets bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Bubba 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Riverside, California American football tight ends National Conference Pro Bowl players Miami Hurricanes football players Green Bay Packers players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Big Spring, Texas