Franklin impressed by Cal
One of the fastest rising prospects on the west coast without question is UCLA pledge four-star athlete prospect Johnathan Franklin (5-10, 181, 4.45) from Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey. The Bruins were ahead on the evaluation scale, but after his outstanding senior season other schools are trying to play catch up.
One of those schools is Cal and he took a trip to the Berkeley campus this past weekend.
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"It went good, it went very good," Franklin said. "As for academics Cal has a lot to offer.
"Academically Cal fits everything I am looking for," Franklin said. "Cal is the No. 1 public school in the nation.
"I still have Arizona State on my list and after that I will sit down, make a list to see what schools fits me best," Franklin said. "I'm looking for a school where I can excel at and where after football, I'll get a good job and be able to care of my family.
"Academically between UCLA and Cal will be a close one," Franklin said. "UCLA is still my number one school.
"I'll know more after I take my last trip and get my list together," Franklin said. "I am going to choose whatever schools can prepare me best for the real world.
"I'm going to sit down and make a mature decision," Franklin said. "Either way it is going to be close.
"Cal and UCLA will be a close one," Franklin said. "I hope that ASU shows me they about more than just football. If they don't, the decision will be between UCLA and Cal.
Whoever in the end gets Franklin's signature will be getting a special player who can play several positions and a great young man.
As a running back, Franklin rushed for just under 2,000 yards as a senior. He would have easily made that plateau but he was taken out of the second half in some games and had several long runs called back.
Franklin is a member of the Rivals.com Rivals250 for the class of 2008 and is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No.16 athlete prospect. He was also selected to the Rivals.com California Top 100 landing as the Golden State's No. 55 prospect at any position.