Ole Miss transfer WR Zakhari Franklin visiting Washington on Tuesday
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, highly-coveted former Ole Miss wide receiver Zakhari Franklin is out west visiting Washington as a potential new destination.
Nakos tweeted out news of the Franklin visit to UW on Tuesday, writing this report:
“Ole Miss wide receiver Zakhari Franklin is visiting Washington today, a source told @On3sports. @mzenitz first. Started career at UTSA. Has racked up 3,386 career receiving yards and 38 touchdowns. Previously visited Illinois.”
There was a bit of drama with Franklin when he initially left Ole Miss, as he only appeared in four games and ultimately decided not to participate in a late-season game vs. Georgia. Ben Garrett of OM Spirit reported that the decision was made to try and protect Franklin’s redshirt… so he could then enter the portal and find a new home for his final season of college ball.
“Turns out, the plan, at least from Franklin’s side, is to preserve a medical redshirt,” Garrett reported last November. “Sources indicate the reason for Franklin’s absence is because he’s already played in four games and would prefer to not play in a fifth in order to maintain a final season of college eligibility.”
He did just that, and now, is currently testing the transfer waters and taking visits in order to find a suitable home for what will technically be Franklin’s third senior season and his sixth overall in college.
Franklin parts ways with the Ole Miss program following just one season in Oxford, appearing in just four games for the Rebels where he recorded four catches for 38 yards and one touchdown.
But prior to his short stint with Ole Miss, Franklin was a four-year starter at UTSA. In five seasons with the Roadrunners, he recorded 261 receptions for 3,348 and 37 touchdowns, setting a multitude of program records while posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons before transferring to Ole Miss ahead of the 2023 season.
Franklin played high school football at the Cedar Hill in Texas, where he was a three-star prospect. Ranked the No. 2,492 overall recruit and the No. 344 wide receiver in the 2019 cycle, according to On3’s Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Franklin has entered the past two seasons on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, and the accomplished veteran wideout will now look for a third program to call home ahead of the final season of his collegiate career.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.