Troy Franklin Becomes Oregon's First 1,000-Yard Wide Receiver Since 2018
EUGENE, Ore--Junior wide receiver Troy Franklin etched his name into the Oregon history books on Saturday night. He became the 12th wide receiver in program history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a single season and the first to do it since Dillon Mitchell in 2018.
It was a light workload for Franklin against the USC Trojans, but he made the most of it, turning two catches into 147 receiving yards and a touchdown to help the spark the Ducks in a 36-27 win.
The 6-foot-3, 187-pound wideout now has 1,093 receiving yards on the year and says the achievement shows he's making progress on a goal he brought with him to Eugene back in 2021.
"It means a lot," Franklin said of hitting the 1,000-yard mark after the game. "When I first got out of high school I came to kind of change the receiver perception up here, so I think I'm kind of doing that."
Franklin's achievement on Saturday looks like an indication of more good things to come, as he's now up to six 100-yard receiving games in 2023, tying an Oregon single-season record.
Bo Nix's top target is now just 92 yards away from breaking the single-season record for most receiving yards (1,184), set by Mitchell in 2018.
Franklin has at least one touchdown catch in 12 of his last 14 games, and his 139 career receptions are tied with Johnny Johnson III for 10th in program history.
Already on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List heading into the season, the Oregon wide receiver was added to the Maxwell Award watch list earlier this month, which is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
The East Palo Alto, California native has been a vital piece of a special Oregon offense, and he'll have another chance to continue his impressive season when the No. 6 Ducks travel to Tempe to face the Arizona State Sun Devils next week.
