There are 11 offensive players on a football field. Five of them are offensive linemen. They are the wall that protects the other players. Behind them, there are two wide receivers, two running backs and a tight end. These players act as the gears that move the offensive. At the head of this is the quarterback. He is the eyes and ears of the offense; he makes sure everything runs smoothly.
As a sophomore, Alexander Franklin is the youngest starting quarterback and captain for Trinity’s football team. Franklin, who goes by the nickname “Hondo” after his father’s love for John Wayne, became captain after his teammates elected him.
“I’m honored and blessed. I think being a captain is honestly the biggest award I’m proud of,” Franklin said. “Ultimately, it means the people around you trust you and believe in you, and that’s the biggest thing you can ask, especially as a sophomore and being a first-year starter in this offense.”
Each year, the team chooses four football captains: two offensive captains and two defensive captains. After the team completes their two-week training camp in the summer, the players vote for who they want to lead them. This year, the two defensive captains are seniors Anthony Njoku and TJ Scannell. The offensive captains are senior Caleb Bayer and sophomore Hondo Franklin.
“[Football] is not a seniority-based program. We really believe that everyone has a value they can bring to this program,” Head Coach Jerheme Urban said. “Our young guys and old guys aren’t just looking for seniors. They’re looking at who’s doing the job description, and that’s who they want to get behind. It’s incredibly impressive for Hondo to do that as a sophomore.”
In addition to being a captain, Franklin is also the starting quarterback. The quarterback is the head of the offense and is responsible for executing the plays and making the calls on the field.
“I try to execute and score as many touchdowns as we can. Each play has a life of its own. If one play goes bad, I don’t let it stack onto the others,” Franklin said. “Adversity is going to happen in the game. It’s really how you respond to it. I try to execute at the highest level and lead the others around me.”
Franklin’s position as starting quarterback was not pre-determined at the beginning of training camp. Coach Urban, with input from the other coaches, decides who earns that role. During the pre-season training camp, all of the team’s quarterbacks are given the opportunity to show off their capabilities. At the end of the camp, one quarterback is chosen by the coaches to be the starter.
“You’re evaluating everything. You’re evaluating presence in the huddle, the processing at the line of scrimmage, the flow and efficiency of things and questions in the meeting rooms,” Urban said. “Through the course of the week, we felt very confident at this point in time going into the season, the offense was most efficient right now with Hondo.”
Captains take on many responsibilities for their team. They motivate their teammates, communicate with the coaches and set the standard for the other players. Maddox Morkovsky, sophomore offensive lineman, said that Franklin stepped up and played a huge role in the position..
“If we have a mess up, [Hondo] is quick to have a next play mentality. He throws it behind us, and we move on. On the field, he’s checking everything when we get new defensive schemes, and I feel like that’s something you wouldn’t really see out of a sophomore quarterback,” Morkovsky said. “I think he’s handled it very well, and you can just tell how comfortable he is with the offense and how well he’s communicating everything.”
Franklin explained that anyone on the team can lead. A first-year can lead a senior, and the role you have dose not determine how much you can lead.
“The biggest goal I have is to win the conference and win a national championship,” Hondo said. “You need a very strong team, and a whole team of brothers fighting for each other for one common goal is what’s going to help us get there.”
The Tigers lost their first game of the season against Berry College on Oct. 11. Now with a record of 4-1, Franklin and the rest of the Tigers prepare to face off against Rhodes at home on Oct. 18.
