Kamarion Franklin Commitment Preview

Five-star defensive lineman Kamarion Franklin is set to announce his commitment on Saturday, August 19^th as a roller coaster of a recruitment comes to an end. The 6’5-270lb prospect out of Mississippi has narrowed down his list to a final five of Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Auburn and Miami seemed to be the main competitors for the talented lineman, but Ole Miss has made a late push for the instate recruit.

Miami long seemed like the front runner for Franklin after getting the big man on campus for multiple unofficial visits, a camp weekend, and an official visit all within the last eight months. The Canes felt very confident in late July after Franklin took his official visit on June 2^nd, attended elite prospect camp at Miami on June 22^nd, and then took an unofficial visit for the recruiting BBQ on July 29^th. Miami’s confidence started to fade after Franklin left campus again without committing.

As Miami’s confidence in landing the big-time defender slowly decreased, Auburn seemed to be taking over as the team to beat. Franklin visited Auburn on July 31^st, just two days after being in Coral Gables. Auburn was in the middle of an impressive recruiting run that included landing multiple four stars and flipping five-star WR Perry Thompson while Franklin was also at campus. Hugh Freeze appears to have things rolling on the trail and is taking advantage of that first-year recruiting bump.

Heading into the week of Franklin’s commitment, Auburn had the feeling that they had surpassed Miami for the lead in this recruitment, but a new challenge quickly arose. Hometown school Ole Miss has seemingly come out of nowhere to be a major threat in recent days. Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have put the full court press on to keep Kamarion Franklin from leaving the state and some around the program feel like it is working.

Franklin’s recruitment has taken many twists and turns in recent weeks and could even change in the final 24 hours before his announcement. Losing out on Franklin would be a major gut punch for the Canes who got the five-star talent on campus more than anyone and seemed like the leaders for a majority of the process. Miami is hoping the long term work they have put in will pay off, but all three schools feel like they have a legitimate shot at landing the talented prospect as decision day nears.

Kamarion Franklin will make his announcement live with Rivals at 1PM eastern time.