FAYETTEVILLE — When Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz scans the landscape of the SEC, he, like many others, recognizes Florida’s Kyle Trask and Alabama’s Mac Jones are playing the quarterback position better than anyone.
Entering the final weeks of the regular season, they hold the top odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to BetOnline, at 2/3 and 3/2, respectively. And their teams have combined to win 15 of 16 games this season.
No. 3 on his current list of top performers at quarterback is Arkansas graduate transfer Feleipe Franks.
“He’s right up there,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. “You can tell his confidence and leadership is exuding on the field.”
Franks, the Razorbacks’ lone offensive captain following running back Rakeem Boyd’s opt out, has brought leadership and stability offensively to a program that severely lacked both in recent seasons. Even against an SEC-only schedule, he has shown to be one of the most effective quarterbacks in program history.
As Arkansas approaches its final two regular-season games, Franks is completing 68% percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,017 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions. The school’s single-season completion percentage record is 66.2%, set by Kevin Scanlon in 1979.
Franks, too, in only eight games has passed for more yards than Nick Starkel and Ben Hicks combined in 2019. He also has eight more passing scores and eight fewer interceptions.
“The numbers, I mean, I wanted to, first and foremost, help Arkansas just get wins in the first place,” Franks said Tuesday of his play this season. “My personal goals were, obviously, not a number. Just always be at the top. So, as of right now, I’m short of that. But, I think it’s good.
“I’m just going to continue to play and continue to get better. That’s what it’s about – just being the best version of me I can be.”
Franks has been the best version of himself this season in the vertical passing game. He is the third-highest graded quarterback in the country on throws 20-plus yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus.
Only BYU’s Zach Wilson and Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler have been better.
On passes 16-plus yards at depth, Franks has completed 21 of 36 attempts for 851 yards and eight touchdowns, and over his last four games he is 12 of 17 with five scores. Franks hit 5 of 6 deep balls for a season-best 245 yards and a touchdown against LSU.
Drinkwitz said Franks poses a “tremendous challenge” this weekend for Missouri, which owns the SEC’s top passing defense (227.1 yards per game). In road games this season, Franks has completed 74.1% of his passes for 1,019 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“When you watch the tape, you see a guy who obviously has a command of the offense, who gets them in the right situations, makes the right decisions, does a really nice job of adding an extra dimension to the offense with his feet,” Drinkwitz added. “He’s throwing accurate balls down the field, putting them in tight windows, and RPOs. I’m definitely impressed.
“We’re going to have our hands full because of the weapons that he has at the wide receiver position. Obviously, they’ve got the run game going and the weapon that he has using his feet.”
Thursday, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman agreed with Drinkwitz's assessment of Franks' play.
"I think he’s playing really well. Obviously, it’s the SEC and there’s some great quarterbacks in our league," he said. "We’re certainly glad that we have Feleipe. I appreciate Coach saying that about him because I believe that as well."
Franks, though, is rarely satisfied with his play and always his own biggest critic.
“There’s always room to improve,” he said. “There’s always room for me to go out there and get more wins and help contribute to get more wins. It can get better. But (this season) has been good so far.”