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 wit ...

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

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 ma ...

(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, ...

. He was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

14th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.

Early years

Bubba attended Big Spring High School in

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 27,282 as of the 2010 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, ...

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 2000 NFL Draft and was selected in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, by the

Awards and honors

*Second-team All- Big East (1997) *''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' 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 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 Americ ...

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