Texas Football: Go all out for 5-Star Bama WR target Troy Franklin

Possibly the top wide receiver target for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class has interest here, with 5-Star Menlo Park, CA, native Troy Franklin.

A top target that the 2021 Texas football recruiting class should have in sight entering the thick of the 2020 offseason is also one of the highest rated skill position prospects in the entire country. Five-star Menlo Atherton wide receiver Troy Franklin has offers from nearly two-dozen schools, including one from Texas.

The laundry list of top tier schools that sent scholarship offers to Franklin thus far could be difficult for head coach Tom Herman and the Texas Longhorns football program to compete with, but they’re doing a good job up to this point. The schools that 247Sports lists as “warm” in the pursuit of Franklin’s pledge includes the Longhorns, Alabama Crimson Tide, Utah Utes, Tennessee Volunteers, and Oregon Ducks.

Other significant schools that sent Franklin a scholarship offer thus far includes the Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Texas A&M Aggies, and USC Trojans. The ultra-elusive 6-foot-2 and 170 pound Menlo Park, CA, native is one of the hotter commodities among any skill position prospects in the nation for the 2021 recruiting cycle.

However, Texas is now without a true wide receiver commit in the 2021 recruiting class since four-star Skyline wideout Quay Davis re-opened his recruitment last year. Davis was one of two commitments that the Longhorns lost in the receiving corps for their 2021 class. The other came earlier this week with three-star Lake Travis tight end Lake McRee decommitting from Texas.

The good news for the Longhorns is that Franklin announced a top 11 finalist school list last year, and it included them on it. Texas is clearly fitting into a niche here since they are the only Big 12 school, and one of two programs in this state, to be named among the 11 finalists for Franklin.

Franklin could be bunching future visits with the Longhorns and Aggies together for the 2020 offseason. He recently opened up on his recruiting timeline with 247Sports, including potential plans to visit both schools in Texas.

Here’s what Franklin had to say on this matter to 247Sports on Feb. 12.

"And with Texas A&M offering since he expanded his list, and an offer from Texas already in the mix, Franklin is hoping to get down to the Lone Star State this spring to see both of those schools."

In the meantime, it could be fun to see what Franklin can do on the field with his Seattle-based 7-on-7 football team during the 2020 college football offseason. His standout speed and tight route running ability will be put on display during the 7-on-7 football season.

Franklin ranks as the nation’s No. 15 2021 high school prospect and the No. 2 wide receiver. He also ranks as the No. 3 prospect out of California. His leaping ability and separation speed also sets him apart among the rest of the wide receivers in this recruiting cycle.

We’ll see how the relationship between Herman, wide receivers coach Andre Coleman, and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich blossoms with Franklin during the offseason. Texas has a good while to build a bond with him, but they’ll need to do so quickly since he’s one of the hottest prospects of the 2021 cycle.