Argos' James Franklin looks ready to be a starter

James Franklin appeared to be the heir apparent to Ricky Ray whenever the CFL veteran decided he would hang up his cleats. But when Ray suffered a serious neck injury in Week Two, that moment arrived sooner than anyone could have expected.

Ready for it though, was Franklin.

In his first start as the quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts, the inexperienced gun-slinger was matched up against a familiar foe. The Edmonton Eskimos.

Before being acquired by the Argos, Franklin had backed up the Eskimos for three seasons. The highly-touted prospect never got an opportunity to shine in Edmonton though, due to the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player and the league’s best quarterback, Mike Reilly under centre for the green and yellow.

However, on Saturday, the student bested the master en route to earning his first victory with Toronto.

Franklin’s strong day began with his first drive. His second pass of the game was a 31-yard toss to receiver Llevi Noel which put Toronto on Edmonton’s 22-yard line.

Four plays later with the Argos closing in, he would call his own number and sneak his way into the end zone.

His second drive saw more of the same. Franklin showed off his deep ball yet again with a 30-yard toss to Armanti Edwards putting the Argos down at the Eskimos’ five-yard line. James Wilder Jr. punched the ball in on the very next play, and just like that, the Argos’ newest QB had architected an early 12-0 lead against his former team.

What Franklin did in the fourth quarter, was the biggest testament to his ability to lead a team. Struggling mightily after the first two drives, the Argos offense failed to put up any sort of points. The team that trailed 17-12 in the fourth quarter was looking for a touchdown to avoid losing their third straight game.

And the young quarterback delivered.

The Argonauts’ quarterback rushed his way through two third-down conversions and finished off a 12 play drive in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to give his team the lead. After successfully attempting a two-point conversion, Toronto led and won their first game of the season by a score of 20-17.

Franklin ended the day 16/24, throwing for 217 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while adding 31 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

While defeating the team which let him walk away this past off-season must have been a satisfying feeling, what must have been even more meaningful to the budding quarterback was proving to the Eskimos and the Argonauts that he is a capable starter in this league.

Although his opportunity to start arrived before the Argonauts anticipated, James Franklin proved that his chance came at the right time.