10 Daniel Franks This Miami tight end, only a junior, has left lasting impressions on would-be tacklers

Because he catches passes like a wideout and blocks like a
tackle, Miami junior tight end Daniel Franks has had NFL general
managers drooling since he burst onto the scene in 1997 with
five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against Temple. In
that game Franks, who grew up in Big Spring, Texas, with a
poster of Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek on his bedroom
door, became the first Hurricanes tight end in five years to
gain 100 or more receiving yards in a game. On his first two
receptions the 6'6", 260-pound Franks, who's better known as
Bubba, knocked off a defender's helmet and left another would-be
tackler dazed and crumpled in a heap.

"More than anything, Bubba is physically imposing and has
tremendous skills," says Miami coach Butch Davis. "But the thing
I have noticed is his consistency. When that ball is snapped, he
takes it as a license to dominate somebody."

In the last two years Franks has caught a total of 32 passes,
including seven for touchdowns, for a 14.8-yard average. Often
last year his blocking freed running back Edgerrin James, the
first-round draft choice of the Indianapolis Colts, for big
gainers. "Franks is a hell of a player," says one scout. "He can
run, catch and block. He does them all very well. He's
definitely the Number 1 tight end and a definite first-round
pick. You watch him: He'll just keep rising up the ladder."

"I'd like to compare Bubba to someone in the NFL," says
Hurricanes tight ends coach Rob Chudzinski, "but I'm not sure
there's a tight end with his tenaciousness and versatility."

--David Fleming

COLOR PHOTO: BRIAN SMITHIDEAL NFL TEAM The new Browns figure to be looking for a big, fast, sure-handed tight end for Tim Couch to throw to.