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Georgia Tech Football 2020 Signee Profile: LB Khatavian Franks

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 30: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 30, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 30: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 30, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech early signee Khatavian Franks was one of the best players in the state of Georgia this past season and is criminally underrated.

Georgia Tech added one pure linebacker in their 2020 recruiting class when they landed the signing day commitment and signing of linebacker Khatavian Franks. Primarily recruited by Andrew Thacker, the Yellow Jackets made a big push late for the Creekside High School standout.

At 6-foot-2 and 205-pounds, Franks is already a pretty good size and should only need to add a few more pounds before taking the field. We believe that Franks could be a player that sees immediate playing time for the Yellow Jackets despite having quality depth at the position. That being said, if the Jackets decide to redshirt Franks, it wouldn’t be a horrible idea either but the ability to play right away is most certainly there.

Franks was ranked by 247Sports’s composite rankings as a top-900 player nationally, a top-60 inside linebacker, and a top-100 player in the state of Georgia. He received an overall rating of .8580. Overall throughout his recruitment, Franks received a total of 25 reported scholarship offers with mostly ACC schools interested in the Faiburn (GA) native. Other programs to offer Franks includ Louisville, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. Non-ACC programs to offer include Colorado, Colorado State, Michigan State, and Memphis.

In terms of a skillset, Franks checks all the boxes you look for in a linebacker at the college level. He has length, speed, flexibility, and most importantly an eye for the ball. Franks in his highlight video shows a great knack for reading a quarterback’s eyes and finding himself in the right spot to make an interception. In the pass rush, he has a quality first step and is has good acceleration as well. He also shows a strong abilities when it comes to playing the run, using his athleticism and agility to stay with the ball carrier. He’s a tough tackler, not easily able to be thrown off by ball carriers and he’s not afraid to lay a big hit either.

According to 247Sports, Franks as a senior this past season finished with 158 tackles on the season including 21 tackles for loss. He also recorded 18 interceptions, two forced fumbles, and five interceptions. He was simply able to dominate at the game no matter where he lined up on defense and could make game changing plays at each position too. For those efforts, he was named RecruitGeogria’s 6A Player of the Year. You can view Frank’s senior highlight reel below.

Overall:

Overall and the bottom line with Franks is that Franks was a criminally underrated recruit in this recruiting cycle. Franks was the victim of going to a smaller classification school and therefore not always facing the best challenges on opposing teams. He simply is a potential gamewrecker of a player for opposing offenses at the next level. Tech fans should be really excited about the addition of Franks to the Jackets defense.