Franklin commits to Stanford

Stanford has a significant need for defensive backs in its 2014 recruiting class, and on Wednesday, received a commitment from Georgia defensive back Denzel Franklin.

Franklin committed to the Cardinal over reported offers from South Carolina, Mississippi State, Ohio, Old Dominion and Navy. He was recruited to The Farm by Stanford's outside linebackers coach Lance Anderson.

Franklin received word that the Cardinal was offering Tuesday afternoon. He wasted little time accepting the scholarship.

"I just got out of practice about an hour before and I was twittering with Coach (Anderson)," Franklin said. "(Later), I called him and we started talking about my whole summer and how it went. I told him I went to Navy and all that kind of stuff, every place I've been. And after that he gave me the big news. He was like, 'We're extending you an offer to Stanford.' The biggest smile on my face came on and it hit hard me hard. It was like, 'finally'. After that we started talking about things I need to do to get ready for Stanford and all that kind of stuff, school wise. I'm pretty much on track for everything right now."

Franklin considered making a commitment on the spot, but decided to delay his formal decision to get the go-ahead from his coaches and family.

"I'm going to call them back tomorrow and tell them I want to commit," Franklin told Cardinal Sports Report after receiving his offer. "I just wanted to tell my coaches, talk it over with my mom, make sure it's fine. Get the green light from my family and all that kind of stuff."

Though Franklin had yet to speak with his family in detail when he spoke with Cardinal Sports Report, he said that his other's initial reaction to the offer was quite favorable.

"I talked to my mom," Franklin said. "My mom, she's so excited. But we have to really discuss it."

Franklin's commitment to Stanford comes a little over a month after he visited The Farm for Stanford's camp and Junior Day. The trip left a strong impression on Franklin.

"Honestly, it lived up to its hype to the fullest," "As far as campus-wise, there's basically not other like it. There are very few colleges that look like that. The coaching staff is amazing. I liked everybody. IT felt like family. Football is out there is crazy.

Franklin had a chance to work with his future position coach, Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason, on the trip.

"I got a chance to really get coached up by him," Franklin said. "During the one-on-ones he gave me a little guidance on what I was doing a little wrong. When we were going through our regular individual drills he was coaching me up on my backpedal. He stayed on me and all the other coaches did too."

Camp was Franklin's favorite part of the visit.

"I had a blast at camp," Franklin said. "It was really nice."

In addition to Stanford, Franklin visited Duke and Navy this summer. He also camped with Georgia. Although he held several other BCS conference offers in addition to Stanford, Franklin said that Navy was actually the runner-up in his recruitment.

"Navy was really nice," Franklin said. "It surprised me. If it wasn't Stanford, it was going to be them."