James Franklin exited the spring as Missouri’s No. 1 quarterback. Upon arriving at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Tigers coach Gary Pinkel reiterated that nothing had changed on that front.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a competition to see who starts in Week 1 against Murray State.
“We’re leaving quarterback competition open until August,” Pinkel said, citing Franklin’s injury-filled 2012 campaign as a reason for the competition.
“He [Franklin] probably had more injuries last year than all my other quarterbacks combined.”
Franklin caught a lot of criticism last year for essentially taking himself out of an early-season game against Arizona State because of a lingering shoulder injury for which he refused to take painkillers. He never quite got on track the rest of the season and missed a total of three games.
Even though Franklin’s at SEC Media Days with Pinkel, he’s yet to be officially named the starting quarterback for the season.
My guess is he will though when Pinkel makes the announcement next month.