Over the weekend we posted a clip of Khalid Kareem putting in some strong work this off-season on his first step and hand work. Today we have another Twitter clip from a Notre Dame defensive lineman, but this time it’s sophomore Jamion Franklin who is rehabbing a serious quad injury that cost him almost his entire freshman campaign.
Here’s the first clip that Franklin posted of him looking strong training on the beach this past weekend.
Lil beach workout with my young king ‼️ congrats on the commitment to WAKE but you know we still got work to do 💯🦍 #RIDGE pic.twitter.com/7Gcenx58Kl
— 💸JShmoney💸 (@Jamion_Franklin) May 28, 2019
For Franklin, this could be pretty significant. Rumor had it over the spring that the quad injury that sidelined him almost all of last year was more severe than originally thought and that his rehab could linger into training camp. That, of course, would severely impact how much he could contribute this fall.
If Franklin is training on the beach and running in sand like this though, it is a really positive development – assuming the Notre Dame coaching staff knew about it and signed off on it. Odds are Franklin wouldn’t have posted it to Twitter if they hadn’t. So let’s just assume this is very positive.
Most felt that Franklin would not be back to full strength by fall camp and would be too far behind in weight training to be able to provide much on the field this year. If he’s ahead of schedule though – and running on sand after a severe injury suggests he may just be – Franklin could provide part of the answer to the interior depth concerns along the defensive line this fall.
Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa are expected to start on the inside with sophomore Jayson Ademilola and early enrollee Jacob Lacey backing them up. Incoming freshman Howard Cross is expected to move inside upon arriving on campus for additional depth. It’s never great to rely on true freshman on the interior of the line though.
It’s not ideal to rely on players from recovering from serious injuries for depth either, but that’s the boat Notre Dame is in with Franklin and early enrollee Hunter Spears who is recovering from an ACL injury. If one of the two of them is able to provide meaningful and impactful snaps each week though, the Irish could be in okay shape.
Before the injury, Franklin had a good training camp and was poised to receive playing time in at least four games last fall. It was to be determined if he would go beyond that and burn a redshirt, but he would have easily played in the new limit of four. That wasn’t in the cards when he was lost for the year in the 4th game of the season against Wake Forest.
It still remains to be seen just how much Notre Dame will be able to get out of Franklin this fall, but the clips he posted over the holiday weekend at least give some hope that perhaps he is much closer to 100% than most felt he was over the spring. If he is, it’s a great development for Notre Dame’s defensive line depth this fall.
Facts be facts.
This 2019 team’s Achilles Heel is Defensive Tackle.
There is only one experienced upperclassman, Kurt Hinish, and he would struggle to be on the two deep of Clemson.
They are young
They are injured-Spears, Franklin, Tagaivailoa-Amosa (has it not been the experience of Notre Dame DLS that once injured, a second injury is more likely than not.?
Lacey WILL be good, but a frosh.
Ademilola WILL be good, but in the future players like him, undersized, and inexperienced, will be redshirted, FULLY.
Howard CRoss WILL be a gritty gamer, but right now is wandering around somewhere in New Jersey.
Consider Clemson’s glistening DL of 2018. It took them UNTIL 2018 to be dominant. Sure the hypertalented Lawrence flashed as a frosh, but it took even outstanding talents such as Wilkins and Ferrell, UNINJURED, into their third year to show their mettle.
With all the clickbait on these paysites oohing and aahing about issues at linebacker, that, mark my words, will not be an issue.
But DT will (it is sloppy thinking and false equivalency to conflate DT and DE into one unit.) be this team’s Achilles Heel.
It is conjectural, but arguable, that Georgia may have the BEST OFFENSIVE LINE in America.
Michigan’s might be in the top 10, MIGHT.
Stanford’s 2019 line is not the Monster Mash of year’s past.
And Clay Helton’s Clown Car in Heritage Hall us slouching toward an ugly end, perhaps in-season.
JT Daniels body now resemble that of Nickie Bolello in his salad days.
Lost, undisciplined.
But a good bowl opponent may be the second or third best OL the Irish face.
This DT situation, COMPLETELY FLIPS THE SCRIPT in 2020. Not only is everyone, other than the cipher Ewell, back, but only Hinish will be in his last year of eligibility.
Elston’s recruiting has filled the pipeline, but this year at DT is the storm before the calm.
Experience, health, maturity all matter.
Frank , that is encouraging news on DT Ja Franklin. Also the extra work Khalid Kareem in off season(previous article). If Franklin is good to go almost 100 % by the time Irish head to Athens , Georgia— it will be a tremendous boost to the interior line in a game that might determine a playoff slot by — either Notre Dame or Georgia , when all said/done. I’ve said before to the naysayers–giving this game to Georgia— grow a pair ! Abandon ship — they say months before seeing land ? Columbus is turning over in his grave , as is Churchill. Ha Ha ! Go Irish !
Southside and Fitz,
Obviously, there are some guys who are hungry for the open defensive tackle spots and are doing something more about it than just ” inheriting ” those positions. That bodes well for us. Once in awhile what projects to be a deficiency or weak spot turns out to be a strength. The safety positions from the 2018 team come to mind, for example. That’s the kind of thing we may be seeing at DT for 2019. It would be a real blow to our opponents, and just what this team needs to keep moving toward Notre Dame’s historically natural position at the top of the final polls.
BGC ’77 ’82
Play like a Champion today, Go Ja’Mion Go
I’m as delighted as I could be to see this. I always thought Franklin was one of those Julian Love under-the-radar kids, and I was looking forward to seeing him prove it. He has showed he is old beyond his years by the way he handled both his father’s illness and his injury. I truly hope he will be able to compete for some serious time on the line this year.