Monroe Township High School’s Akeer Franklin (33) has overcome tragedy to become one of the best running backs in the Greater Middlesex Conference. ROY DEBOER A keer Franklin is the same height — 5 feet 7 inches tall — that he was as a high school freshman three years ago. However, the running back for the Monroe Township High School football team has grown in many ways since then, both as a player and a person.
In May 2012, tragedy struck him and his three sisters’ young lives when their single mom suffered a fatal asthma attack. Those who knew Franklin then say the extraordinary strength that made the compact player such an outstanding runner was literally sapped from his body by grief.
Franklin had been well on the road to stardom as a football player, but suddenly he arrived at a crossroads. The wrong turn would have been for Franklin to feel sorry for himself by the untimely death of his mother and stray from the fabric of what was a very structured life.
But that didn’t happen. His late mom imparted to her son that you never give up when faced with challenges, no matter the odds. Franklin remained faithful to what he was taught. And while he still mourns his mom’s passing, he has tried to overcome that turmoil raging in his soul and be the very best he can be, which includes playing football.
Franklin’s decision to remain true to his calling has also been bolstered by overwhelming support from coaches, teammates and close friends. In part, Franklin’s decision to remain faithful to that commitment is due to the unconditional love they have showed him.
When Franklin breaks away for another of his patented touchdown runs, he can forget, at least for a fleeting moment, what happened in the past.
Since that fateful day in May, Franklin has grown to become one of the top players in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC). Much of the credit for putting him in situations where he can demonstrate his skills goes to Chris Beagan, Monroe’s head football coach. Just as crucial has been the support shown by Beagan, his wife, Laurie, and children, Alexandra and Chris, who have embraced Franklin as a family member, making sure the youngster and his sisters received the care they needed.
The coach heads into his sixth season, and he doesn’t talk much about how Franklin has overcome the tragedy in his life or his own importance in that process. He prefers to shift the discussion to what his multi-talented player means to helping him achieve what he was hired to do, and that’s win football games.
“Akeer has become the new breed of running back in football,” Beagan said. “He is compact (175 pounds), explosive and tough for tacklers to find. He has also proven he can handle 25-plus touches a game in the [GMC] Red Division.” Franklin became a full-fledged starter as a sophomore because he demonstrated those attributes to Beagan. Every time he touched the ball, he averaged a remarkable 6.3 yards a carry.
If Franklin showed promise in 2012, his junior year was a full-fledged coming-out party. He turned into the workhorse back his coach hoped he would become, amassing 1,375 yards on the ground and scoring 18 touchdowns. Just as important, Franklin showed the durability necessary for a Red Division back by fighting through various ankle sprains and bruises that made his body ache constantly.
Beagan believes Franklin will take his place among the best backs to wear a Falcons uniform, including all-state Jared Jimenez and Blake Bascomb. Franklin admits statistics are important because they get the attention of college recruiters, but they aren’t the spark plugs that fire his engine.
“Without my teammates and coaches, statistics would be meaningless,” Franklin said. “So many people have impacted my development, on and off the field, and I am so thankful for them helping me stay on the right path.”
The path Franklin hopes to follow this fall is helping Monroe be a serious challenger for the Red Division and NJSIAA Group V championships. One of the more vivid scenes at the end of last year was Franklin crying openly following Monroe’s 35-34 loss to Sayreville War Memorial High School in the sectional semifinals. That’s another kind of pain he would like to avoid this season.
As for where he ends up following graduation, that remains to be seen.
“During the last three months, I’ve been contacted by 27 schools, but I haven’t received scholarship offers yet,” he said. “I’ve been to camps to show my skills, and I’m hoping that results in [a scholarship].”
The colleges that have shown the most interest, according to Franklin, include NCAA Bowl Championship Series team the University of Cincinnati and Division I Villanova University and Monmouth University.
Although Franklin plays in the defensive backfield only on occasion, he tackles his academic responsibilities straight on.
“I’m handling my schoolwork and, honestly, I have no excuses for not getting it done,” he said. “My coach has always preached to us about going just as hard in the classroom as you do on the field.”
Now that it’s summer, Franklin can be seen daily in the blazing sun at the high school athletic complex working out with a regimen of sprints he said were developed by volunteer coach and former Rutgers University player Val Barnaby.
“He’s a great person to be around,” Franklin said. “Coach Val has helped me strive to work as hard as I can.”
Franklin has one personal goal he has yet to achieve and a year left to make it happen.
“Team goals aside, I want to be considered the best player in the GMC, and I know that will require me to play with everything I have,” he said.
If that includes what’s inside Franklin, there’s no doubt he can achieve that goal.