Awards and Honors

Yearly Honors
- 2022 Jerry Rice Award Finalist
- OVC Freshman of the Year (2022)
- Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-American (2022)
- Stats Perform FCS Freshman All-American (2022)
- All-OVC second team (2022)
- OVC All-Newcomer squad (2022)
- The Bluebloods All-Conference second team (2022)
- Phil Steele All-Conference second team (2022)
Weekly Honors
- OVC Newcomer of the Week (9/25/22)
Academic Honors
- Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2021)

2022: Named OVC Freshman of the Year…Tabbed OVC Freshman of the Year by Phil Steele…Earned Freshman All-American honors from Phil Steele (first team) and Stats Perform…Named to All-OVC second team…Tabbed finalist for Jerry Rice Award…Tabbed to OVC All-Newcomer squad…Named to The Bluebloods all-conference second team…Garnered all-conference second team honors from Phil Steele…Named OVC Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 25)…Played in all 11 games for the Skyhawks while starting two contests at running back…Helped team to OVC Championship…Tallied 84 carries for 676 yards…Rushed for eight touchdowns…Averaged 8.0 yards per carry…Eclipsed 100 rushing yards against Murray State (Oct. 8) and Houston Christian (Oct. 29)…Ranked amongst OVC leaders in yards per carry (first), rushing yards (third), rushing touchdowns (fourth) and rushing yards per game (fifth)…Scored touchdowns against Lindenwood (Sept. 24), Tennessee Tech (Oct. 1), Murray State (Oct. 8), Houston Christian (Oct. 29) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 19)…Rushed for a season-high three touchdowns against Lindenwood (Sept. 24)…Tallied two rushing touchdowns against Murray State (Oct. 8)…Posted 12 receptions for 55 yards…Returned eight kickoffs for 160 yards…Averaged 20.0 yards per kick return.

2021: Redshirted…Played in two games for the Skyhawks at running back…Helped team to OVC Championship and second round berth in NCAA Division I playoffs…Tallied seven carries for 67 yards…Notched one touchdown against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 13)…Averaged 9.6 yards per carry…Saw action against Murray State (Oct. 9) and Tennessee Tech (Nov. 13)…Posted season-highs with four carries and 55 yards at Tennessee Tech (Nov. 13)…Tallied one reception for two yards at Tennessee Tech (Nov. 13)…Averaged 2.0 yards per catch…Averaged 34.5 all-purpose yards per game…Named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the fall semester.

BEFORE UTM: Prepped at Central High School where he played for head coach Kent Laster...Finished his career with 415 rushing attempts for 2,229 yards and 29 touchdowns...Tallied 41 receptions for 521 yards and four touchdowns...Recorded 2,750 yards of total offense and 33 touchdowns for his career...In the first round of the 2020 playoffs, he tallied 20 carries for 170 yards while adding four receptions for 92 yards.

PERSONAL: Born on June 4, 2002...Son of Ernest and Charlotte Franklin...Has three siblings, Ernest Jr., Chris and Maralana...Majoring in sports management.

Sam Franklin