Will Franklin Invited to East-West Shrine Game
1/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 7, 2008
Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri senior wide receiver William Franklin (St. Louis, Mo.) has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game, to be played Jan. 19th at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game will kickoff at 6 p.m. (central) and will be televised live on ESPN-2.
Franklin ended his standout Tiger career in fine fashion in Mizzou's 38-7 Cotton Bowl win over Arkansas on Jan. 1st, as he led the team with five receptions for 77 yards. Three of his grabs came on key third-down plays in the third quarter, as the Tigers extended their lead to 28-0 on the way to their first New Year's Day bowl victory since the 1966 Sugar Bowl, and to a school-record 12th win.
Franklin ended his season with a personal-best 49 catches for 709 yards and four touchdowns in 2007, as he earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors for his play. He ranks fourth on the Mizzou career receiving yardage list, with 2,125 yards, and is fifth in both career receptions (143) and receiving touchdowns (13).
Franklin becomes the 35th Tiger standout to play in the prestigious all-star game, and he will be part of the West team, which will be coached by Mike White. Franklin is the third Tiger under Head Coach Gary Pinkel to play in the East-West Shrine Game, joining wide receiver Justin Gage (2003) and center A.J. Ricker (2004).
"This is a great honor, I'm looking forward to meeting up with some of the best athletes in the nation and hopefully showing what I can do," said Franklin. "This game has a great history to it, and it goes to support such a good cause, I'm just proud to be part of it," he said.
