Illinois Receiver Zakhari Franklin Ready To Go After Transferring From Ole Miss

Illinois Fighting Illini football coach Bret Bielema is already excited about the possibilities of wide receiver Zakhari Franklin.

Franklin, who transferred from Ole Miss last week, arrived on campus Monday. Bielema said Franklin should be ready for full go by Wednesday.

"A very productive player," Bielema told reporters earlier this week. "I think I saw a stat the other day he was the most productive player returning in college football ... I think he'll have an immediate impact in a positive way."

Last year he caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown at Ole Miss. He was unable to recover from an early-season injury before falling out of the rotation. Before Oxford, Franklin was a standout at University of Texas-Antonio. He was one of the best receivers in Conference USA, compiling back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022.

He has one year of eligibility left. The Illini have courted Franklin since before he transferred to Ole Miss. Bielema said they ran into academic issues that prevented them from moving sooner.

"We reached out to him two years ago when this opportunity came before he even went to Ole Miss," Bielema said. "One of the unique challenges of the University of Illinois is we have some pretty high standards after a person has been in school for so long."

Franklin is expected to boost a unit that lost leading receiver Isaiah Williams (Detroit Lions) and Casey Washington (Atlanta Falcons) to the NFL.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com