Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks (born January 6, 1978) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

who played nine seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 14th overall in the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

Early years

Bubba attended

Big Spring High School Big Spring High School is a public high school located in Big Spring, Texas and classified as a 4A Division I school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is part of the Big Spring Independent School District located in north centra ...

in Big Spring, Texas and was an all state tight end there.

College career

Franks played collegiate football at the

, where he was known for his extraordinary one-handed receptions. He redshirted in 1996, but was very productive in the 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons, setting the University of Miami record for most touchdowns by a tight end, with 12. He was also named to the All-Big East team twice and was named as an All-American in 1999. Franks waived his final year of eligibility to enter the

and was selected in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, by the Green Bay Packers.

Awards and honors

*Second-team All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

(1997) *'' Sporting News'' Freshman

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n (1997) *First-team All-Big East (1998–1999) *All-American (1999)

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

After a promising but unspectacular

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, he reached the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

his second NFL year, during which he caught nine

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

passes. Franks went to three Pro Bowls all together (2001, 2002, and 2003). He missed much of the 2005 season with knee and neck injuries. On February 20, 2008, Franks was released by the Packers after an unproductive and injury-plagued 2007 season in which he was demoted to second string TE behind Donald Lee.

New York Jets

On March 16, 2008, Franks agreed to terms with the New York Jets on a one-year deal. Franks was released on July 13, 2009.

NFL statistics

Personal

Has a wife, Raquel, son, Daniel II, and daughter, Sienna.

References

External links

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Bubba 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Riverside, California American football tight ends National Conference Pro Bowl players Miami Hurricanes football players Green Bay Packers players New York Jets players People from Big Spring, Texas