Tulsa World: Franks making progress

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Franks making progress
Sooner reclaims his starting position at cornerback.

NICE RETURN
Dominique Franks: Said it was "something I did personally" that moved him down the depth chart at field cornerback.

By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 8/15/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 8/15/2008 2:12 AM

Sooner reclaims his starting position at cornerback.

NORMAN — Dominique Franks' bulletin that he had regained Oklahoma's starting field cornerback position was a sign of progress for the former Union star. Before Wednesday, he had spent preseason camp backing up Lendy Holmes on the corner.

Still, there is much work to be done.

"None of it is set in stone," OU secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright reminded.

Holmes could continue to rotate in at the field corner to complement his duties at free safety. Nic Harris, who slides to strong safety with Holmes at free, could play any one of three safety spots, including the nickel safety/strongside linebacker position when the Sooners use five defensive backs. Or Keenan Clayton could play that hybrid nickel position. Or promising freshman Sam Proctor could play strong safety.

The best part, according to Wright, is "we're starting to put together a pretty good two-deep."

The best part for Franks?

"I wanted to feel like I was accountable and dependable for my team to help us win as much as possible," he said, "and I'm going out there trying to prove that every day. I'm trying to earn their respect back."

Franks, see, feels he lost some of that over the summer.

"It was something I did personally," he said. "I don't really want to talk about it, but I understand I was in the wrong. I needed to change."

If Franks' misstep was kept private, OU's depth chart at the start of

camp wasn't. Holmes, who many expected would start at safety, was ahead of Franks at cornerback.

"That was my punishment," Franks said. "So I had to work myself back into the rotation and prove to the coaches that I could be accountable."

It has been Franks' mission since camp began, something his teammates have picked up on.

"Dom is doing extremely well," Harris remarked Thursday.

This week's depth chart is an indicator of that.

"Dom's had a pretty good camp. He's done much better the last couple days," Wright said. "He is kind of a ball hawk. He's got really good instincts. He's got good vision. Different formations give you different pass routes. And he can see the field whether it's two or three receivers on his side.

"He has a good knack and good awareness of where the routes are being run, where the quarterback's looking, and he gets great breaks on the ball," he said.

It's the kind of thing everybody saw last spring when Franks was one of OU's breakout stars. The idea was he'd take his three-interception Red-White Game and run with it over the summer. Only, it didn't happen.

So now Franks is rebuilding his momentum. And while it appears he has a pretty strong draft behind him, it is very much a work in progress. Just like his secondary.

"I've still got a lot of proving to do," he said.

Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

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