Johnathan Franklin News

Consensus appears to be emerging among respected college football observers that UCLA should be able successfully defend its hold on Pac-12's Southern division in 2013.

It's not a stretch to say that Nebraska fans are tired of seeing their team lose four times in a season.

Out of the 32 projected starting running backs for the 2013 season, there are a handful that potentially will lose their starting job between now and opening day.

Can't get enough Johnathan Franklin? Neither can we. One of the Packers' top draft picks is the feature of an upcoming documentary series.

Head coach Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff of the Green Bay Packers had an opportunity to see the 2013 rookie class, as well as second-years players at a mini-camp held this past weekend.

The task of replacing both Johnathan Franklin and Joe Fauria isn't an enviable one by any stretch of the imagination for the UCLA Bruins.

All players are equal, but some players are more equal than others. That's the basis of our Most Important Player series.

The first-round draft pick from UCLA took part in the team's rookie camp, though he was one of the team's two unsigned draft picks.

But in addition to a competition for carries, there might also be a sit-com in the works, as second-rounder Eddie Lacy and fourth-rounder Johnathan Franklin are rooming together until they get settled into Green Bay.

There were some positive reports about the state of running back Eddie Lacy 's toe recently, but the team hasn't yet reached a deal with their second-round pick.

Mike McCarthy was highly enthusiastic and positive about the work of the rookie class that started workouts with the team today.

So it looks like I zigged this week when I should have zagged on the eligibility of three former UCLA players for NFC North offseason work.

The Packers aren't done signing rookies, as running back Johnathan Franklin from UCLA has signed a four-year, $2.5 million contract today.

He's talking about maturity and opportunity and greatness, a strange and surreal thought process for an athlete of his generation.

While the Huskers aren't likely to lose too many games barring injury thanks to scheduling, there's some tricky trap games and one big November challenge.

Packers rookie running back Johnathan Franklin will not be able to participate in the team's OTAs because of a little-known rule.

This week, NFC West colleague Mike Sando posted the NFL's little-known rules for rookie participation in offseason programs.

If you're a Dynasty fantasy football league player , you've probably wiped the drool off the corners of your mouth by now and are champing at the bit for your annual rookie league draft.

Kiffin said Monday that Kelly spoke with him about Barkley "early on" in the evaluation process and later sent the Eagles' quarterbacks coach to Southern California to personally work out the Trojans' four-year starter.

The Stanford Cardinals had a third consecutive strong season despite generally being expected to take a step back in 2012.