Jonathan Franklin: Poet, Leader, Dreamer

by tasser10 on Aug 16, 2011 6:35 AM PDT

Once in a blue moon, Chris Foster's prescription medicine (Troganesta) wears off and he writes a nice article about a Bruin.

Then again, it is not too hard to write a good article on Jonathan Franklin. You can get a glimpse of what a great kid JetSki is, here and here.

He works hard...but not just at football apparently. Sure, last year he gained the most yards in a season since Skip Hicks...but to me at least, writing plays and poetry is even harder than that!

At 15 he wrote plays about hope, casting friends in roles and taping their performances. And at open-mike night at Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood, he expressed his thoughts about God and society.

You can tell after 10 seconds that Jonathan is a Bruin.

You might think that as a poet, Jonathan would be the quiet, introvert type...not so:

Franklin was also active behind the scenes. For example, there was the time he burst into the locker room the day after a 35-0 loss to Stanford, and — "using words you probably can't put in the newspaper," he says — loudly hustled players to the weight room 15 minutes early.

Read more to see Jerry Johnson's recollection of JetSki's words that day...which was followed by a 3-game winning streak.

And you might think with those things on his mind, he'd have a full plate...and you'd be wrong again. Always with an eye out for his community, JetSki has big dreams: he hopes some day to be Mayor of Los Angeles...and more...

Read the article for more details!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Dorsey is producing some great guys

Franklin impresses and inspires me with every minute. Truly a role model for kids and will likely be a UCLA legend when it’s all over.

"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it." Miles Davis

by milesdavis93 on Aug 15, 2011 1:18 PM PDT reply actions

Mayor of LA

Love it. Great story. Thanks for sharing t10.

by Nestor on Aug 15, 2011 2:19 PM PDT reply actions

I'll vote for him today over Mayor Villagairosa!

Ok ok, politics aside… Jonathan Franklin is an outstanding Bruin and human being, and I’m sure he’ll do great things in football and in life.

by BruinMW on Aug 15, 2011 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Great article

For a change – when I saw the byline, I was shocked.

by ucla717274 on Aug 15, 2011 7:27 PM PDT reply actions

Didn’t know he was such a good person. I give him a lot of respect.

“In my neighborhood, guys were living the stereotypes. They were gang-banging, doing drugs, going to jail or just plain dying. I feel God has a greater purpose for me than football.
People are in a bubble where I grew up. I write about the revolution of change, people bettering themselves.”

The guy clearly thinks outside the box, which can be very hard for young people.

by Lucas Freitas on Aug 16, 2011 11:44 AM PDT reply actions